Okeechobee County man survives gator attack at Nubbin Slough
May 26th, 2009 by Ana X. Ceron
Alligator believed to have attacked fisherman on Monday. Photo provided by FWC.
OKEECHOBEE — Antonio Prado has become the second man in a year to survive a gator attack in Nubbin Slough.
The 47-year-old Okeechobee County man was casting his net in the popular fishing spot in the northeast side of Lake Okeechobee when an alligator yanked him under water on Monday afternoon.
The gator bit him across the arm and chest before Prado’s 24-year-old son, Jonatan, rushed to his aid, hitting the 11-foot beast with a pair of pliers, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials. The hit distracted the gator, who released Prado just before his son was able to drag him back to shore.
Prado was flown to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center in Fort Pierce, where he underwent emergency surgery, according to FWC spokeswoman Gabriella Ferraro. He survived the attack with no loss of extremities.
After the attack, a trapper called to the scene by FWC caught the gator and shot him.
The gator – likely used to people and the fish tossed behind as scraps — was still in the area of the attack when the trapper arrived, Ferraro said.
Despite Monday’s attack, fishermen returned to the slough for fresh water fish, Ferraro said.
“We don’t encourage anyone this time of year to get into water where there are alligators present,” Ferraro said.
That’s because alligators are most active in the summer.
Last June, for instance, an 18-year-old man had his arm bitten off by an alligator during a nighttime swim at the same slough where Prado was attacked.
The FWC urges locals and visitors to use caution and to be alert in or around water.
The FWC receives more than 16,000 alligator-related complaints annually and removes about 8,500 alligators each year when the reptiles present potential danger to people or property.
If you encounter an alligator that poses a threat to you, your pets or your property, and the alligator is more than 4 feet long, call the FWC’s toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (392-4286). The line is the primary contact for all alligator complaints and is staffed 24 hours a day.
Tags: alligator, Antonio Prado, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Gabriella Ferraro, gator attack, Jonatan Prado, lake okeechobee, Nubbin Slough, pliers
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May 27th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Why do they keep killing these animals? Oh that’s right, because they get paid to do it! He knew there were gators in the water when he went in there.
May 27th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
[...] 11-foot attackerAntonio Prado, a 47-year-old truck driver, was fishing Lake Okeechobee with his son on Memorial Day when an 11-foot gator attacked, dragging him underwater. He lives to tell about it here. [...]
January 9th, 2010 at 9:13 pm
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