A boat captain in Florida has had a very tough month, tougher than most. First, he had his hand bitten off by an alligator. As if that were not bad enough, he was then charged with feeding a reptile illegally.
Wallace Weatherholt was sent to jail after officials decided to press charges against the man for the incident that took place a few weeks ago. The 63-year old man lost his hand suddenly, as an alligator leaped out of the water and bit it off.
Authorities killed the alligator, but were not able to reattach the man’s hand to his arm. Police said that witnesses told them that the man was holding a fish over the water for the alligators, which led to his unfortunate accident. It is against the law to feed the gators, and that’s why he was charged.
Weatherholt works at Captain Doug’s Small Airport Tours in Everglades City. In spite of having his hand bitten off, he was able to steer the boat back to the dock. Experts say that when you feed alligators, they lose their fear of humans and are then more likely to attack you, so don’t do it.
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