TITUSVILLE, Fla. (WSVN) — An elderly man was airlifted to the hospital after he lost part his leg in an alligator attack at an RV park in eastern Florida.
Brevard County Fire Rescue units responded to the scene of the incident at the Great Outdoors RV and Golf Resort in Titusville, Friday afternoon.
Fire officials said the massive reptile amputated the 72-year-old victim’s right leg below his knee.
Paramedics airlifted the patient to a trauma center.
Experts are now warning people about the gator danger.
“Hopefully nobody was feeding this alligator in this RV park, but if that were the case, and that alligator has lost its fear of humans, it’s gonna come closer,” said Brandon Fisher, Director of Media Relations at Gatorland, “and whether you have the food or don’t have the food that day, that could be the difference between what might have happened.”
Fisher said alligators are currently more active right now since they are getting into breeding season.
Great Outdoors RV and Golf Resort has several of bodies of water.
“Any incident where you find yourself in front of an alligator, you want a back up as quickly as you can,” said Fisher. “Don’t ever turn your back on the animal, because once you turn your back, you don’t know what’s going on behind you, of course.”
While it’s best to avoid getting close to a gator, Fisher said, there are some things to know if one of them attacks.
“They have some sensitive spots on the body, some nerve endings,” he said. “Right at the very tip of the nose is a bunch of nerve endings on the nostrils, but the head is all bone.”
Fire officials have not provided an update on the victim’s condition.
Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said two alligators were removed from the area, but it’s unclear whether either of them attacked the man.
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