Florida teen reportedly offers alligator his arm to save his life


Published July 10, 2012




http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/10/alligator-bites-off-swimming-teen-arm-in-fla/


FoxNews.com





A Florida teenager has lost his right arm below the elbow to an attacking alligator.



Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Jorge
Pino told Fort Myers television station WBBH the teen's arm was still
inside the 11-foot alligator when it was hunted down and killed Monday
evening.

The television station reports 17-year-old Kaleb Langdale was rushed
to a Fort Myers hospital but the arm couldn't be reattached.

Langdale was swimming in the Caloosahatchee River near Moore Haven
when the attack occurred. A friend told ClickOrlando.com that he’s been
around alligators his entire life and offered the gator his arm to avoid
more serious injuries.

"He's smart enough to know that if he offers him (alligator) his arm,
he’s not going to take his torso," Matt Baker, the friend said.

Rebecca Langdale, the teen's sister, said her brother took the gator
by the chin "like he saw on TV a million times." He turned to swim and
the alligator grabbed his arm.

"He knew once it grabbed his arm, he was going to lose it," she told
The News-Press.com. "So he put both feet on the alligator’s head and
pushed and pretty much took his own arm off before the alligator could."

Another friend, Gary Beck said Langdale popped out of the water,
screaming "call the paramedics, my arm is gone." The friends applied
pressure to the arm until medics arrived.

Officials say it's alligator mating season and attacks are not
uncommon. One official said there are thousands of alligators in the
area.

Langdale's friends told the station that he was in good spirits
because the gator took his right arm instead of his left, which he
apparently uses to steer his airboat.