STUART NEWS (Florida) 24 June 08 18-year-old loses arm in attack by 11-foot gator in Okeechobee (Keona Gardner )
Okeechobee: Kasey Edwards said he never paid "too much mind" to alligators swimming in canals in Okeechobee County.
But early Sunday morning, an 11 1/2-foot alligator had his full attention as Edwards, 18, struggled to free his left arm from the jaws of the reptile.
"It's a very surreal feeling. You know feeling like you're about to die here, and you know, praying to God," Edwards said. "I have to give all the credit to God for keeping me out there."
The 18-year-old got away with his life and the gator with his left arm.
On Monday evening, the teen was listed in fair condition at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne with his arm was severed 3 to 4 inches above the elbow. Edwards said, he has a surgery Tuesday to check what remains of his arm and hopes to be out of the hospital by the weekend.
About 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 County Sheriff's Office report.
Edwards had been drinking alcoholic beverages earlier and may have been impaired, according to witnesses quoted in the report. His friends tried to persuade him not to do it, the report states.
Halfway through the swim, an alligator approached Edwards and clamped down on his left arm. He knew the next move was the death roll, when a gator pulls its prey underwater and rolls the victim around to drown it.
And that's when Edwards said he fought back by grabbing hold to a buoy line and not letting go. Somewhere in the battle he used the middle finger on his right hand to poke the reptile in the eye.
That's when Edwards got free, he said, started swimming and noticed he didn't have his left arm. But his main concern was to make it to the east end of the canal so friends could pull him to safety.
Edwards said his attack shows how something needs to be done about the overpopulation of gators.
"They're not protected creatures. They're nuisance animals," he said.
Edwards said the credit for his survival and quick thinking goes to God and friends and emergency personnel.
"I don't care who you are or how strong you think you are. You aren't going to be able to hold on to a buoy line while an 11 1/2-foot alligator is trying to pull you under water," he said.
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/jun/24/18-year-old-attacked-by-11-foot-gator-in-okeechobe/
STUART NEWS (Florida) 24 June 08 Alligator in attack destroyed (Lamaur Stancil)
Okeechobee: Hunters from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission captured and destroyed the alligator that bit off the arm of an Okeechobee man Sunday.
"This could have been prevented," said Gabriella Ferraro, public information coordinator for FWC. "People growing up in Okeechobee know that the lakes and the canals there are the habitat of gators."
At 2:30 a.m. Sunday, 18-year-old Kasey Edwards said he was swimming in a canal at Nubbin Slough when he encountered the alligator. The animal bit into his arm, but Edwards was able to break free. However, the reptile gobbled the arm, which was found in its belly during an autopsy by FWC on Sunday. Edwards is recovering from surgery Tuesday at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne.
Ferraro said it is FWC's policy to find and remove alligators after they bite people. The encounters result in animals that are no longer afraid of humans, which makes them a danger, she said.
"Most people don't go swimming in these areas," Ferraro said. "Many of the areas have 'no swimming' signs posted."
18-year-old loses arm in attack by 11-foot gator
