Florida man bitten by alligator after mistaking it for a dog

A Florida man found himself in a sticky situation when he mistook a 7ft1'' alligator for a friendly dog.

In what might be the most 'Florida man' mishap ever reported, the unfortunate resident approached what he thought was a dog in the bushes - only to discover that it was a much more dangerous beast.

According to a report by ABC Action News, Sarasota County Sherriff's Office deputies were dispatched to a location outside of the Warm Mineral Springs Motel around 12.30 AM on Tuesday (June 14) morning.

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There they found a 49-year-old man who told authorities he had been strolling outside when he spotted a dark figure moving along the bushes. He explained that he thought it had been a dog with a long leash - so he didn't bother to move out of the way.

However, to his horror, the dark shape turned out to be an enormous alligator that bit him on the right leg. Per the sheriff's office, the reptile bit down, "holding on, and pulling on his muscle/tissue."

Credit: Sally Weigand / Alamy

"He attempted to get away at that point and felt the alligator rip a chunk of his muscle/tissue off," Sarasota county sheriff’s spokesman Douglas Johnson said in a statement reported by NBC news.

Once he managed to escape, the man found a deputy who was already in the area investigating a separate call. Emergency services were called, and the man was rushed to Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Venice.

"The victim has been released from the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery," police reported in the wake of the attack.

As for the culprit, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) told ABC that a trapper arrived on the scene to apprehend the reptile. An alligator measuring a whopping 7'1'' was caught on the property, and transferred to a local farm, Townsend Farms.

According to FWC data, there has not been a confirmed deadly alligator attack in Florida since 2019. However, serious non-deadly attacks are a relatively frequent occurrence - over the past 10 years, the state has averaged eight unprovoked bites per year that were bad enough to necessitate medical attention.

Featured Image Credit: Phil Degginger / Alamy