Alligator bites off part of man's arm

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Source: AP Murphy

By Jaime Dailey - bio | email

FRIPP ISLAND, SC (WTOC) - A 75-year-old Ohio man has been taken to the hospital after an alligator bit off a portion of his arm.

The man was golfing at the Ocean Creek Golf Course when his ball went into a nearby pond. He bent down to pick up his ball and an alligator bit off his forearm. The alligator is estimated to be over 10 feet long, weighing about 400 pounds.

Wildlife officials tracked down and killed the alligator. They retrieved the arm from the alligator's stomach.

David Corneliussen, the owner of Tracks Wildlife Control on Lady's Island, captured the alligator and has quite a story to tell.

"He was sitting close to the bank so we were going to try to put a noose basically, a snare cable over him and when we approached him and almost had it over his head, he went back under the water," said Corneliussen. "He surfaced again and we tried it again and then he moved out a little deeper, played a little cat and mouse for about 30 minutes and then we were able to get a snag on him on a rope with a hook and hook him. We brought him to the shore where we dispatched him, pulled him up and opened him up, removed the arm and EMS was standing by to take it."

The golfer and his arm were both taken to MUSC. His name and his condition are not being released.

Department of Natural Resources officers are investigating.