NEWS-JOURNAL (Daytona Beach, Florida) 24 July 06 DeLand teen fends off gator with Crocodile Hunter maneuver (Seth Robbins)
Cory Workman's feet dangled in the murky water of the St. John's River early Sunday. In the darkness, the yellow eyes of an alligator lurked just out of his view.
Workman, 16, of DeLand, had just driven 10 hours from a job and was now waiting on the bank of the Lake County side of the river for his two friends to return. One friend had gone to find his girlfriend who lived nearby on River Road in Astor. Another had wandered off.
"I wanted to go home," he said by phone later Sunday from Florida Hospital in DeLand. "And go to sleep." '
It was dark and the trees rustled in the wind. Bored, he began skipping rocks along the water. Ker-plunk. Ker-plunk.
"Alligators are ambush predators," said Kat Kelly, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Throwing rocks and sticks sounds like fish to them."
The water was warm and murky, Workman said, his ankles submerged about 2 to 3 inches. Then crack, he heard what sounded like two pieces of wood slapping together. When he looked down, an alligator's jaw was clenched around his left ankle. It thrashed, yanking Workman into the water.
He punched at the skin of the alligator and tried to pry open its snout. His leg was numb and his lanky arms were no match for its powerful jaws.
"Finally, I just gave up getting my leg out of its mouth," he said.
Trying to roll over, the alligator's shiny, yellow eyes gazed back at him. Workman shoved his thumb into one socket. He learned the maneuver from watching wildlife shows on television, and the Crocodile Hunter would be proud, because the alligator released his ankle.
He screamed for his friends, and they quickly bandaged his leg with a ripped T-shirt. The trio raced home, blood leaking from his ankle, but first they stopped at a convenience store for some peroxide and a cheese steak sub -- Workman was hungry.
On Sunday night, he rested at the hospital, where he was listed in good condition. His leg should be fine, he said.
"But, I feel a lot worse than when it happened," he said.
Trappers spent the day searching for the alligator, which they believe to be 8 to 10 feet in length from the bite marks on his ankle. He had one message for them.
"I told them if they caught it, I want to buy it." he said. "It tried to eat me, so I'm going to eat it."
Area alligator attacks since 1948
Volusia County - 10 attacks on humans, one fatality, 3-year-old Adam Binford at Lake Ashby in 1997.
Flagler County - Two attacks on humans, no fatalities
*To report a nuisance alligator, call (866) 392-4286.
Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission
DeLand teen fends off gator with Crocodile Hunter maneuver