More details on March 10 alligator attack in Leesburg

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has identified the man who lost his hand and part of his arm to an alligator March 10 as Paul Riggs, 52, of Vineland, New Jersey.

A neighbor told the Daily Commercial that the man was either visiting or staying with his mother and was restoring an antique car in the retirement community.

The incident report, released Thursday, said that Riggs was fishing in a retention pond on the ninth hole on the Pennbrooke Fairways golf course, 522 Grand Vista Trail, on March 10. A spokesman for Lake County said fire rescue crews responded during the afternoon.

“It is unknown how, at this time, but the alligator was able to grab the male by his left hand. The male’s left hand was amputated by the alligator. The alligator retreated into the water with the hand,” the report says.

A grisly photo taken at the scene and posted online showed that the bite also severed part of his wrist.

“I was out on my lanai and just sat down to check my emails when I heard, ‘No, no, no!’ ” Sally Priest told the Daily Commercial on Monday.

At first, she thought someone might be harassing the alligators. Sometimes people throw things at them, she said. When she realized the fisherman was in trouble, she told her husband to call 911.

She saw what she wishes she could unsee: The man’s hand in the mouth of the gator, who was doing the death roll on the bank.

Alligators drag their prey into the water to drown the victims.

Alligator attacks are rare, but in addition to the attack in Leesburg, another man suffered lacerations to his leg that same day when he was attacked by an American crocodile in the Everglades.

Generally, if an alligator grabs prey bigger than expected they release their victim and go back into the water.

A licensed trapper killed the 9-foot-3-inch alligator, and retrieved the man’s hand, but a rescue worker was heard to say that it would not be possible to reattach it.

Last year, there were three gator attacks in the Ocala National Forest. Over the past 10 years, there have been an average of eight unprovoked alligator attacks per year in Florida.