A man lost a chunk of his leg when he was attacked by an alligator outside of a Florida hotel after mistaking the reptile for a dog, police said.
The bizarre incident unfolded as the man was walking outside the Warm Mineral Springs Motel in North Port around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday and noticed a dark figure shuffling around in some bushes, WFLA reported, citing the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office.
Thinking that it was a dog attached to a long leash, the man didn’t move out of the way when the gator charged toward him.
Then the alligator bit his leg and ripped off a piece of his muscle tissue, deputies said.
A deputy who was out on a separate call in the area responded to the scene. The man was taken by paramedics to the Sarasota Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to WWSB.
While waiting for an animal trapper to respond to the scene, another deputy was able to capture the gator, which was removed from the area.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the attack.
