'Holy cow, bro': First responder's reaction to Naples man bitten by alligator heard in 911 call

Tomas Rodriguez, Naples Daily News
Updated ·2 min read
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A 911 call reveals how a man described an alligator's bite as profuse, with "a lot of skin ripped off," as he walked home following the attack.

The victim, who described the alligator as about 3 feet long, said he wrapped his T-shirt around his leg to control the bleeding as he continued walking. Officials later described that gator as more than twice as long, at 6 feet, 9 inches.

"I just need you to stop walking," the dispatcher told the victim. "Otherwise, I can't get an ambulance to you."

"Just a minute," the victim replied. "I want to get to a house ... I'll give you an address."

The dispatcher then asked the victim again to remain on scene, the recording indicates.

"Oh, man, I see a big piece of skin ripped out," the victim said as he gasped. "It's pretty ugly."

"Don't peek," the dispatcher later replied. "Just keep pressure on it."

He told the dispatcher he was walking on Jungle Plum Drive shortly after 5 a.m. when an alligator came up and bit him in the leg.

"Holy cow, bro," a paramedic said when he arrived on scene about eight minutes after the victim placed the call. Paramedics told the victim he lost "quite a bit" of blood.

The Collier County Sheriff's Office said authorities responded to the Forest Glen Golf & Country Club community, in the 3800 block of Forest Glen Boulevard, after the alligator attacked the man.

As one deputy aided the man, a second deputy spotted the gator heading toward a nearby lake. The deputy kept eyes on the gator and provided its location to a trapper.

The sheriff's office said the trapper safely apprehended the reptile, a female measuring 6 feet and 9 inches, and removed it from the community.

The sheriff's office cautioned residents around bodies of water and vegetation, where an alligator could have a nest, saying it's gators' mating season.

The victim was airlifted to a local hospital.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Naples alligator bite victim describes 'skin ripped off' in 911 call