SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A man is seriously injured after officials say he was bitten by an alligator on Sunday while swimming in a lake in Seminole County.
According to a report from WKMG-TV, the incident happened just before 2 a.m. in Lake Monroe.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the incident.
FWC says it urges Floridians to follow these steps in cases where they are near an alligator:
- Keep a safe distance if you see an alligator. If someone is concerned about an alligator, they should call FWC’s toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286), and we will dispatch a contracted nuisance alligator trapper to resolve the situation.
- Keep pets on a leash and away from the water’s edge. Pets often resemble alligators’ natural prey.
- Swim only in designated swimming areas during daylight hours and without your pet. Alligators are most active between dusk and dawn.
- Never feed an alligator. It’s illegal and dangerous. When fed, alligators can lose their natural wariness and instead learn to associate people with the availability of food. This can lead to an alligator becoming a nuisance and needing to be removed from the wild.
The organization uses the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP) to address alligator threats in developed areas while conserving the reptiles in areas they stay in.
SNAP uses contracted nuisance alligator trappers throughout the state to remove alligators that may be a threat to people, pets and property.