DAILY SUN (The Villages, Florida) 01 May 07 Alligator attacks Villager (Benjamin Roode)
The Villages: A local golfer was attacked by a 6-foot alligator on the Bacall executive golf course Saturday afternoon.
The reptile went after Villages resident Donald Poole, who was attempting to retrieve a golf ball his wife hit near a small pond on the course’s sixth hole. Village of Sabal Chase resident Jim Esber, who was playing the round with the Pooles about 1 p.m., witnessed his fellow Villages resident trying to beat something with his ball retriever.
“I’ve seen alligators around here,” Esber said. “But never an attack.”
The incident shows that Villagers and all Florida residents must remember they share wetlands and waterways with some dangerous creatures, local wildlife and golf officials said Monday.
Poole suffered puncture and scratch wounds on his left leg and left hand, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report, wounds for which he was treated at The Villages Regional Hospital. Poole could not be reached for comment Monday.
State wildlife officials called a trapper who caught, removed and killed the animal, according to the report. Officers reported the animal appeared to have been fed by humans.
The alligator “was not alarmed by our presence,” the report read.
Villages Country Club Administration spokesman Tony Simpson said the incident illustrates that Villagers, and especially golfers, need to use common sense around local waterways. Florida water is a natural habitat to alligators and some dangerous snakes, he said.
“It’s a good example of why not to go looking for golf balls (near water),” he said.
Golf courses throughout the state are an active crossroads for humans and reptiles, including a few venomous snakes, said Florida Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Joy Hill. Venomous snakes often can be found in the same places as alligators — usually in wetland areas with vegetation that grows out of the water.
“If you’re on a golf course and your ball goes close to the edge of the water, I’d let it go,” Hill said.
Golf ponds, water hazards and lakes in The Villages are connected by piping, allowing animals to travel throughout the waterways and making tracking difficult, Simpson said.
While course ambassadors do walk the grounds and assist golfers, watching for alligators and snakes and reporting them is not part of the docents’ responsibilities, Simpson said. Water hazards do not have signs warning of the reptiles but do have red stakes marking them as golf hazards.
Golfers are allowed to play their balls if they land near the water and are still inbounds, Simpson said. Course officials said they do not mark areas off-limits simply because the areas are near water that could contain alligators.
Wildlife officials believe that, by feeding the alligators, humans are partly to blame for Monday’s incident.
“Alligators who are fed lose their natural fear of people,” Hill said. “Once they lose that fear, they become much more dangerous.
“They associate food with people, who can then easily become the food,” she said.
Feeding Florida alligators is a crime punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Alligator attacks Villager