A man lost a chunk of his leg when he was attacked by an alligator outside a Florida hotel after mistaking the reptile for a dog, police said.
The bizarre incident unfolded as the man was walking outside the Warm Mineral Springs Motel in North Port around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday and noticed a dark figure shuffling around in some bushes, WFLA reported, citing the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office.
Thinking that it was a dog attached to a long leash, the man didn’t move out of the way when the gator charged toward him.
Then the alligator bit his leg and ripped off a piece of his muscle tissue, deputies said.
A deputy who was out on a separate call in the area responded. The man was taken by paramedics to the Sarasota Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to WWSB.
While waiting for an animal trapper to respond, another deputy was able to capture the gator, which was removed from the area.
A man apparently thought a dog was hanging around in the bushes until an alligator emerged and attacked him in North Port, Florida. FOX 35The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the attack.
