Dramatic video showed the encounter, which ended after a bystander jumped into the tank and grabbed the gator while the woman . A young man trying to avoid Lakeland police lost his arm to an alligator in a lake Wednesday evening. One of the alligators attacks him and bites down on his arm. He was talking to us and everything. '", In an interview with Fox13 Tampa Bay from the time, the man who found Merda said: "I didn't know if he was dead or alive when I first walked upon him. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. A Louisiana man was missing and presumed dead after an alligator attacked him on Monday in an area that was flooded during Hurricane Ida, the authorities said.. A woman said that at about noon on . STPSO used high water vehicles and flatboats in an attempt to locate the victim, but as of this time all attempts have been futile. He was like just help, help, help. Describing the grisly state of his arm, he told 10 Tampa Bay he could see bones and muscles exposed. Wildlife expert Justin Matthews said that based on the severity of the injury, it was most likely a large alligator. It's the people throwing rocks and giving them food.". A Florida man is speaking out after a three-day-long ordeal in which he lost his arm in an alligator attack and then got lost in a swamp. Then, suddenly something unexpected happens. On July 15, an 80-year-old woman was killed after she fell into the canal near her home at the Boca Royale Golf and Country Club in Englewood, about 30 miles south of Sarasota. Wildlife officials tracked down and killed the alligator. Eric Merda, 43, lost his arm to an alligator while swimming in Florida lake (Fox 13 Tampa Bay) After the alligator finally retreated, Merda says he was injured and lost in the swamp for three. Suddenly the 400-pound alligator grabbed him by his arm, according to media reports, and dragged him into a pond. They cut the harpoon lines and looked for a residence to stop for help. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. He swam back to where he started, and then he began walking around, screaming for help. He told Fox News 13that Merda was evidently in agony. WTSP shared portions of the interview with Merda on their Youtube. 'They cut the fence they helped him up, and he actually walked to the ambulance.'. Merda managed to swim back to shore and started to walk in search of help. The dogs are also apparently okay.\r\rHowever, despite all Dandwate has been through, forest officials say he will be fined for entering a restricted area that had warning signs about crocodiles displayed.-------------------------------------------------------------\r\rGo to https://www.patreon.com/tomonews and become a Patron now \r\rTomoNews is now on Patreon and we've got some cool perks for our hardcore fans.\r\rTomoNews is your best source for real news. Feeding alligators can also decrease their fear of people and lead to attacks, Kinler said. "Do you want to live or die. FORT MYERS-NAPLES, Fla. -- An attempt to remove an alligator found at a Florida home led to a man with a bite to his arm. There have been at least six alligator attacks near Tampa so far this year, 10 Tampa Bay reported. Authorities are still looking for a 71-year-old Louisiana man who went missing after an alligator tore his arm off inside his shed, which was flooded during Hurricane Ida. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Witnesses told police that three of them were alligator hunting on the side side of Lake Jesup when they caught an alligator by a snatch line. Our tone is irreverent and unapologetic. BENGALURU, INDIA An Indian engineer is learning the hard way that even after you have been mauled by crocodiles trying to rescue your pet, the government will still come after you for a payout.\r\rMudit Dandwate, 26, was visiting visiting a temple in a forest area called Ramanagaram in Bangalore with a friend and his two dogs Sunday morning, the Times of India reported.\r\rWhen the dogs decided to jump off into a lake. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. "They could not save the arm," Dunn said. A 71-year-old Louisiana man is missing after an alligator bit off his arm in floodwaters caused by Hurricane Ida. Following the attack, she was able to bring him in a bit closer to their home, where she then ran to retrieve first aid for his severed limb. Carsten Kieffer was on an alligator hunting trip with. But as soon as he entered the lake, a crocodile surfaced, clamping down on his left arm and ripping the limb off from below the elbow.\r\rForest department officials rescued Dandwate, and he was rushed to the hospital for treatment. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Feeling like he was walking in circles, he decided to follow the sun and power lines that he could see. WFTV The first thing Merda requested was water. "I looked over and there was a gator and I went to swim, like Olympic-style swim, and she grab my arm from the outside," the 43-year-old told the station. He was like just help, help, help. According to NBC News, a 71 year-old man was walking in the floodwaters outside his home in Slidell, Louisiana when he was attacked by an alligator. "I said a gator got my arm, he says 'holy smokes man! Scott Lahodik, 51, was doing the job the course hired him to do when the alligator clamped down on his left arm and caused a significant injury to his arm, according to FOX 13 and WFTS.. St. Tammy Parish Sheriff Randy Smith went on to urge residents to be extra vigilant when walking in flooded areas, as wildlife has been displaced as well during this storm and alligators and other animals may have moved closer into neighborhoods.. I look over and theres [an alligator] on my right-hand side so I went to swim and she got my forearm so I grabbed her like this, she was trying to roll but she snapped her head so my arm went backwards like this completely, Merda recalled. Eric Merda, 43, from Sarasota, was visiting the Lake Manatee Fish Camp in Myakka City on July 17 when he got lost. "He will no longer be able to do the work he loves, and many other things he loved doing," his aunt Evelyn James wrote in a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe, titled 'my nephew the born survivor, gets attacked.'. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The alligator clamped down on the man's arm and . A 72-year-old man's leg was bitten off by an alligator in Florida Friday afternoon, according to Brevard County Fire Rescue officials. SLIDELL, La. Ron DeSantis is making an announcement in Titusville, Bride killed, groom critically injured after wedding reception when drunken driver hits golf cart, Residents say Orange County middle school dismissal plaguing neighborhood with issues, Man, dog unharmed after vehicle goes airborne during tornado in Florida. March 29, 2021 12:15 pm ET. Tell us about it! We cover the funniest, craziest and most talked-about stories on the internet. IIRC the trick to this is that the crocodile will not close its mouth unless something touches its tongue. I looked at my hand and saw there was blood all over it. Jeffrey Heim, 25, was searching for shark teeth in a river in Florida when a gator pounced on him and grabbed his head in between his jaws. A Florida man who had his arm ripped off by an alligator as he swam across a lake has offered some advice, saying: "Leave them gators alone". He continued to fight for his life as the alligator dragged him three times beneath the water. Eric Merda, a. The reptile handler was performing the stunt at the Phokkathara. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Officials are warning residents not to feed alligators which is not only illegal but can also cause alligators to be more aggressive toward people and associate them with food availability. Do not feed the gators and you guys know who you are, throwing rocks at them, Ive seen it on the job sites, leave them gators alone, Merda cautions. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, The ABC Action News app brings you the latest trusted n. Video shows shoppers fleeing from ISIS-inspired attacker i Woman has 'loud, full body orgasm' in the middle of LA concert, All the red carpet highlights and star-studded fashionfrom the Karl Lagerfeld-themed Met Gala, Bride killed, groom seriously hurt by drunk driver just minutes after leaving reception, Rihannas Met Gala bridal look makes fan question if she married A$AP Rocky, Inside Met Gala 2023: See celebs let loose at extravagant dinner, Pregnant Rihanna arrives fashionably late in blooming white gown at Met Gala 2023, Khristina Williams previews the New York Liberty's 2023 WNBA season, Elon Musk Tells Bill Maher Woke Mind Virus Is Dangerous On Real Time, Katy Perry will be temporarily replaced on 'American Idol' amid drama. Harriet Alexander For Dailymail.com, That's a tail-gator! He bent down to pick up his ball, and an alligator bit off his forearm. Halfway across the lake, Merda says he encountered an alligator that grabbed his arm and snapped it as it tried to pull him under the water three times. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The 45-year-old trainer was performing a stunt at the Phokkathara zoo in Chiang Rai. Storyful. There is a high probability that he is deceased, but we cant make that call until we recover the body.. 'I didn't know if he was dead or alive when I first walked upon him,' the rescuer said. At 2:21 a.m. Sunday, Edwards was hanging out with friends on Nubbin Slough in Okeechobee County when he told them he was going to swim across a 25-foot-deep canal, according to an Okeechobee . As if Hurricane Ida itself wasnt horrific enough, Louisianians are now facing a new dilemma: navigating all the various hazards it created. Trump's latest attack addresses DeSantis' overseas trips to the U.K., Israel, Florida's Covid-19 record, and polling support for the 2024 Presidential race. All rights reserved. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free weekly newsletter to get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday. Lance Vitter said Thursday. I'm going up, and I'm not coming back down.". After a gator bit Eric Merda's arm off while swimming in Lake Manatee, he spent three exhausting days on the swamp with one arm, Tampa's WTSP reports.There have been at least a half-dozen gator attacks in the Tampa Bay region this season, the most recent of which involved a . This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Finally, Merda said he encountered a man on the other side of a fence who asked him what he was doing. The man was attacked outside his home in the New Orleans suburb of Slidell, which was inundated with several feet of water. With his right arm trapped, the 43-year-old from Sarasota wrapped his left arm around the gator as it dragged him underwater three times. Florida Fish and Wildlife said that a contracted alligator trapper removed a six-foot and nine-foot alligator from the lake on the day after the Merda attack, WFLA-TV reported. A Florida man wrestled an alligator, saved his new puppy and managed not to drop his cigar in a harrowing rescue captured on surveillance footage. "It's do or die," Merda explained. Doctors were unable to reattach an 11-year-old Louisiana boy's arm that was retrieved from the belly of the alligator, a family friend said Thursday. KSLTV.com. Merda claims hes adjusting to a new routine with a different outlook, and he wants to warn other people about the need for caution in Florida waterways. "Leave the alligators alone," Merda warned. Donnie Wiseman was visiting the Scales and Tails petting zoo in. Harriet Alexander For Dailymail.com A man in Florida who managed to survive for three days lost in the woods after an alligator tore off his arm has spoken about his ordeal two months after the attack. A birthday party at a Utah reptile park turned into a horrible experience for the children, when an alligator bit the handler's hand and dragged her into its enclosure. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. When she returned, her husband was no longer lying on the steps. But they weren't especially worried alligator attacks in Louisiana are rare and usually the injuries are not serious. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced Merdas alligator encounter on July 21. Only 13 fatalities were recorded nationally since 2000, and none was in Louisiana. It happened Tuesday in Charlotte City, north of Fort Myers. The man, who is in his 70s, was . Shane Richins, the company's owner, said in an interview Monday that the handler was opening the enclosure to feed the the 8-foot gator named "Darth Gator" as usual, but this time the .