Let's give him a hand....I mean a round of applause.....

So much for not biting the hand that feeds you.

On one hand, he'll probably never feed an alligator again. That is, unless he gets completely out of hand.

A gator does not know where the food ends and your hand begins.

To them anything in front of them is food and they'll snap at it.

.

Wally won't be pushing the Beeve around any more.

Guess he won't be noodling for gators anymore.

In court, he'll be sworn in- raise your right hand... woops... your left hand

If this guy stays on the Everglades, sooner or later the gators will get the rest of him. Chummmmm...p.

Adding insult to injury. Literally.

This guy is now getting punished everyday have to wipe with his left hand. The fine is overkill........

You'd think that getting his hand bit off was punishment and humiliation enough, but no. Now they've got to be all formal about it. Maybe he can turn it into a gimmick by wearing a hook on his stump and dressing up like a pirate....

People think it's cute and fun to feed wildlife, but all they're doing is putting the animal's life at risk so that they can be entertained. It happens all the time in Colorado with bears. Once a bear has been fed by a human - it only takes one time - she loses her fear of humans and brings her cubs to the food source, which always means that she will be killed. Do Not Feed Wildlife! Find something else to do for your entertainment.

The people here making a joke about this show a definite lack of compassion. Not a surprise here!

The man lost his hand and I do believe that is punishment enough!

I think it's more a case of feeding the hand that bites you.

Linda M-311663

The man lost his hand and I do believe that is punishment enough!

So simply because he injured you feel that is punishment enough? Perhaps you feel the same way if someone kills another person in a DUI crash and spends time in the hospital? He committed a crime. The criminal penalty is minor but sends a message, hopefully to him and others. Didn't take very long for a bleeding heart to step up.

At least he gave the gator a hand for entertaining his family.

Linda, I have compassion for the guy. Not for losing his hand, but for being so stupid. It says the guy traps and owns gators. Based on that "first-hand" experience, and simple general knowledge of these animals, he should have known enough to prevent being injured.

Yes, I feel sorry for anyone who is as dumb as a sack full of hammers.

You're making fun of this guy, but has anyone checked to see if he is ok ? Like, does he need a hand with anything...?

This guy deserves to have the strong arm of the law come down on him. He should definitely get an attorney ASAP. It will really come in handy. People should stop pointing fingers at the law here and realize that this guy tried to take the law into his own hands and now it bit him. Hopefully he can get a handle on his life before he ends up homeless and looking for handouts the rest of his life.

When they arrested him, did they slap the cuffs on him or how did that work?

He got what he deserved. I feel sorry for the alligator. The alligator was doing exactly what an alligator should be doing...that does not warrant the death penalty!

Thanks Travis. You made me spit my coffee on the keyboard. Now I need a handy-wipe.

I feel guilty for piling on here but didn't the guy ever see Peter Pan and what happened to Captain Hook?... Yea I know, that was a Crocodile.

Now that fine will cost him a fist full of dollars.

Very funny guys!

Now as far as charging him. I think they could've drawn up the charges as a warning but dismissed in light of what happened. This really was a bit of low blow. I'm pretty sure he got the point of why he should not of done what he did. Nature already handed him a punishment; the justice system is really just basically giving him the finger as icing on the cake that's not needed.

Best of luck to him. Hope he has learned his lesson.

It is time

hs321'LITERALLY!

A little finger food now and then...What's the harm? Just save room for the main course.

Natures way of weeding out the stupid!

When they arrested him, did they slap the cuffs on him or how did that work?

They probably did and told him if he slides out of the cuffs they'll charge him with attempted escape. The man had his hand bitten off and they still had to arrest and charge him. I agree that he was probably punished enough losing his hand 'n all. But they apparently wanted to make an example of this 63-yo, they even set $1k bail!

Feeding gators can destroy their fear of people and make them rely on our "hand" outs.

There is no beginning and no end to the stupidity of the people involved in this article. The dumbazz feeding the alligator to the municipality that decided he should be arrested and charged with feeding the alligator. There are really no words

Now the Folks around South Louisiana,

Said Amos was a Hell of a Man,

He could trap the biggest, meanest alligotor,

And he'd use one hand,

That's all the got left cause Alligotor bit it,

Left arm gone clean up to the elbow.

*Facepalm* ...er... *Facestump*

Trust Verily

Though I agree he should be charged at least to make an example out of him; your correlation to comparing his stupidity to murder is ludicrous! Check the statutes.. killing by DUI constitutes murder. Losing one's own hand due to stupidity is NOT! Go find your meds...

"The man lost his hand and I do believe that is punishment enough!"

It isn't lost - we all know where it went.

The title is amusing in that it implies the hand was what was fed to the gator. In any event, I see humanity at work again in killing of the alligator. I'll bet no one can tell me why it was necessary to kill this animal.

Alligators are instinct driven creatures and as such, they do not even on a rudimentary level think; "mmmm good. Human hand taste really good, so from now on I'm only going after humans."

Killing the gator was unnessary.

"It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man" ~ Deep thoughts by Jack Handy (SNL)

Willy, the reason the gator was killed was stated in the article: once a gator is fed by a human, it loses it's instinctual fear of humans and becomes a danger to anyone who comes near it. It's sad that this gator had to pay for one guy's stupidity, but it wasn't killed just for kicks.

He was injured while breaking the law. You don't fail to prosecute the convenience store robber just because he was shot while committing the robbery do you? He should be prosecuted for breaking the law.

Since robbing a convenience store is still a felony, how about this: A guy decides to ride a bicycle on private property, a misdemeanor offense, and ends up taking a header when he hits a hidden rock. He spends a week in the hospital because of the concussion and broken ribs he gives himself....

If it was YOUR property he trespassed onto, do y'all think his injuries are enough, or would y'all want him to be arrested and charged with trespass? If y'all would demand this hypothetical guy be charged -- why would y'all let this dumb-frug gator-feeder get off just because he had his hand bit off?

Getting his hand bit off is punishment for his stupidity.... the fine is his punishment for breaking the law.

He learned two lessons that day, don't feed gators and don't break the law.

he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent.

because of his action an animal was killed for doing what all animals would have done.

it is quite upsetting to learn that some people still decide that the hand of an irresponsible member of society is worth more than the life of an animal.

apparently some didn't read it carefully so here i'll cut & paste the reason for the killing:

"The gator was captured and killed after the attack so the man's hand could be retrieved from the animal's stomach."

Joe B 1.37

Actually Joe, this is not the case unless this fellow made a regular habit of feeding this gator. They will then come to expect food when they see a human, but a single feeding would not provoke such behavior.

However, since this fellow conducted tours of the everglades, he likely routinely fed gators for the amusement of his customers. In that case, the action taken was necessary. I am corrected.

Maybe one.

A little harder, odb2.

Which anal-retentive prig decided to charge the guy? Sheez, he learned his lesson.

@The Truth: See comment #1.12.

You're missing the point here.

It is against the law to feed wildlife - for obvious reasons - that most nitwit humans can't quite grasp.

And unfortunately it is the animal that pays the ultimate price.

He broke the law. He deserves to be punished legally - and perhaps it will sink in to a few people out there that they shouldn't do this either.

I agree with IndigoKid. People are stupid about alligators, and he should have known better. They aren't the family dog. I'm sorry he lost his hand, but it's true that it's against the law to feed them. Perhaps some leniency will be shown, but he clearly broke the law.

"perhaps it will sink in to a few people out there that they shouldn't do this either."

Indigo,

I think the gator ripping his hand off makes it crystal clear to any rational person that this is a law they probably shouldn't break. I have yet to see a fine in the United States large enough where I would choose amputation by a wild animal rather than paying up.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38660951/ns/world_news-europe/t/swede-could-face-huge-speeding-fine/#.UBani45Ex30

And unfortunately it is the animal that pays the ultimate price

It's not like there is an alligator shortage. Charging the guy and fining him for stupidly baiting gators after loosing a hand is like something out of a Kafka story.

Indigo - Seriously?!!! Obviously neither the prospective fine nor the risk of losing a hand stopped this guy so what's he gonna learn now that he hasn't already? Rest assured that next time he considers this he'll have a pretty strong reminder not to do it.

That's one POV. However, feeding alligators teaches them to associate food with people, which teaches them to attack people. It invariably costs the animal its life.

It's a Federal law not to feed or interfere with gators. He should pay the $500 fine and spend 60 days in prison. Why shouldn't he? He broke the law by feeding the animal. It begs the question: how many alligators has he fed over the years and taught to associate feeding with human beings? Hundreds? Thousands? Every one of them potentially a danger to human beings. Consider that issue. Those of us who live in Florida have a different view of this lawbreaker. I do regret that he lost his limb, but he could have lost his life. He's lucky he's alive.

Alligators are dangerous animals. They aren't to be meddled with and Florida Law Final ID # 2598259
68A-25.001 revised 05/18/2006 clearly states:

Feeding or Enticement of Alligators or Crocodiles Unlawful

There's no way to ride around that law. Why is it in place? Gators are dangerous to feed, as this man found out to his regret.

This guy probably had been feeding the gators for a long time to get 'em in close to his boat. The law of averages finally caught up with him.

And yes, he SHOULD be charged with AND convicted for that misdemeanor crime, simply because he is without any doubt guilty of committing the crime. Unless y'all think everyone else who commits a crime should just be "let go" just because they happen to have got hurt while committing the crime.

the one and only-1533412

And unfortunately it is the animal that pays the ultimate price

It's not like there is an alligator shortage.

Yes, and that's just like what was said about the dodo, the passenger pigeon, the Great auk, the quagga, the Caribbean monk seal, the Carolina parakeet, the Atlas bear, the Toolache wallaby, the sea mink, the Bubal hartebeest, the Stellar's sea cow, etc, etc, etc, etc....... In EVERY case, the claim was likely "well, it's not like there's any shortage of them...".

The point is, is that he has now, and through his career (to make a dollar), trained at least one, likely MANY gators to see human beings as a source of food. And that might be your 7 year old son, or grandson, that the gators might then pursue, seeing 'it' as a food source. In essence, and in a round about (yet direct) way, this idiot has trained gators to attack humans when close to them. Losing a part of himself is simply a 'freebie' to the gator. On the other hand, this guy needs some stricter punishment than the article describes. Ask yourself: is a $500 fine enough when a few weeks later it's YOUR kid snatched off the bank and eaten?

He'll have to become profficient at "slight" of hand, since the alligator appears to have gotten the upper hand.

You really gotta hand it to his guy as he really had a hand in the menu.

Um, it's illegal to feed gators because when people do, the gators get accustomed to coming to humans for food, and they get aggressive. A fed gator then becomes a danger to everyone else in the area, not just to the moron who's dangling the chicken off the side of his boat.

Your freedom to be an idiot stops precisely at the point at which your behavior starts endangering me.

As the article noted, gators generally do not bother humans unless they are fed by humans. Then they lose their fear of humans and associate them with food. They can become aggressive and start attacking humans instead of avoiding them. Once a gator is fed by humans, it must be captured and killed. These gators often live in close proximity to developments, and can easily find their ways to neighborhood retention ponds. This is a common sense law that people with no common sense break.

Early...

IT is a gator, can't say I have EVER seen one that is not aggressive. It is not the fact they are anymore aggressive, it is the fact they expect handouts from humans. As far as being a danger to you are you going swimming in the glades? Is the gator coming into your back yard? Did you read the article it was not a chicken it was a fish. Everyone else in the area? How many people are in the glades nowadays?

PangS
Really, this is the example you are going to run with. Government taking away our freedoms with their silly laws? The silly laws that brought the Alligator back from the brink of being gone for ever? Silly laws that were created because after years of watching how gators react to humans after being fed time and time again, it is clear that doing so will not make a friendly gator, but one that loses its natural fear of humans. There may be laws out there you might want to get on, but this, while common sense for some, is really out there to draw attention to a serious situation for all those tourists that come down here every year. Feed them, and someone will pay a price.

BraynG

PangS
Really, this is the example you are going to run with..... There may be laws out there you might want to get on, but this, while common sense for some, is really out there to draw attention to a serious situation for all those tourists that come down here every year. Feed them, and someone will pay a price.

I think it's a great law to run with. Anybody stupid enough to stick appendages near an alligator's mouth is probably too stupid to understand a law forbidding it.

Don't worry Pang, YOU are still FREE to be an idiot!

Pang..well said....it would be totally enough just to leave the poor sap alone to the misery of losing a hand.

@PangS: See comment #1.12.

PangS (Deep South) makes an idiotic argument. First,who knows how many alligators this guy has fed over the years and in what areas of the state. Second, I live in Florida and have seen alligators that people have fed come charging up out of the water at people expecting food. We've seen alligators come running up and people having to throw rocks, etc. to stop the alligators from getting too close. That's not natural behavior for alligators.

Before you make this an issue of rights, think about somebody's kid walking along and all of a sudden an alligator that someone previously fed comes charging at them expecting food. In Florida alligators are commonly found in nearly all natural water bodies and also in stormwater ponds in residential communities. There's a very valid reason why the state kills alligators that they know have been fed by humans... they approach people expecting a food reward and it becomes a dangerous situation.

How did they keep the handcuffs on when they arrested him? Wouldn't he be able to just slide out of one side of them?
Really, though, way to kick him while he is down. Losing a hand and getting charged with a misdemeanor...

Way to kick him when he's down? If he was an airboat driver who knew what he was doing he wouldn't have fed the alligator in the first place. You don't need to feed an alligator just to see an alligator, just like you don't need to go to the Everglades to see an alligator in Florida (hint... you can easily see an alligator in a freshwater system in the lower half of the state and this includes stormwater ponds in residential neighborhoods). This guy purposely tried to get an alligator to come up to the boat.

lyn...if you have ever been to florida you know that alligators are not just in the everglades...they ARE in backyards, on highways, golf courses. They are everywhere there. I have friends who live there and it is very common for them to look out their back door and see an alligator sunning itself in their backyard. One time they even had an alligator tree their gardener.

This isn't a case where the law is bad or intrusive, this is a case where the choice to enforce it is just plain mean. You catch some nitwit feeding a gator at a pond then yes, ticket them. They need to understand this is dangerous and puts others at risk. Here the guy has already paid a really steep price and charging him is beyond the pale. But don't blame the law for that, blame the person or people who could have shown a smidgen of compassion.

Huh...this guy has put others at risk, whether he lost his hand or not.

Someone has already made this tasteless joke, Mspielman.

Jay...how do you know that hands are tasteless?

Taste like chicken...........or so I have been told.

Gtouch, humans are referred to as long pig. People taste like pork, not chicken.

South Pacific cannibals from the 18th century had their answers recorded for posterity. It's believed that their love for Spam is connected with their prior habit of ritual cannibalism.

Exactly, a hungry gator will take anything presented to them. Even if you are in a boat and a limb is too close to the water. Weathers is an expert who learned from a book.

My response to you "HA HA".

Getit? You're missing the point. That gator would have done. BITE YOU, that is. Consider this: how many other alligators has this man taught to associate humans with food? One knows this was not the only one he's fed from his boat.

Think about it. You're in the Everglades. You're fishing, having a nice day. Oh, no, you hit a log and your boat sinks! Now those gators come for YOU because they've been taught to associate people with food! Still think what he did was fine? Well, I don't and I live in FL. Sorry he lost his hand and arm, but you don't do the crime if you can't do the time and pay the fine.

Florida Statute 68A-25.001 Feeding or Enticement of Alligators or Crocodiles Unlawful

He wasn't the only one doing the feeding. someone else had a hand in this...

Huh?

Florida Statute 68A-25.001

Feeding or Enticement of Alligators or Crocodiles Unlawful

Please, Enchilada, show me the other side of this easy-to-comprehend law which is posted everywhere in Florida tourists and alligators come together. I would not defend you if you were so stupid as to break this law in my presence. I'd call the FDLE and report you to them. As a matter of fact, if you had small children and they were present while you were breaking this law, I would attempt to shield them from the gator, who would see them as small and tasty bits of food.

That's how alligators see the world when they have been fed by human beings. They especially like dogs and toddlers... They only approach humans if they've been enticed and/or fed.

Only because the gator was considered a danger to others after this. Otherwise they could have given it some ipecac syrup and retrieved the hand that way.

The gator was not just killed to retrieve the hand, the gator was killed because it learned that humans bring tasty things...and humans are tasty.

Fed wildlife is dead wildlife.

Alligators are native to Florida. Pythons are not, and they are here because stupid people get tired of them an release them. I would guess you are not a Floridian.

"Feed the politicians to the alligators."

What exactly is it that you have against gators that you would force them to eat garbage.

Another redneck hillbilly heard from.

How do we know it was an accident? The gator was hungry, it was enticed and it ate food that was dangled in front of it.

BTW, Mila, this man lost his arm and his hand. Alligators typically grasp and roll rather than bite things off; they're incapable of taking bites of a food item. This is referred to as the 'death roll.' The death roll rips off a large chunk of flesh or a limb with negative consequences for reattachment. In other words, reattachment is rarely possible due to massive tissue damage.

Florida Statute:

Feeding or Enticement of Alligators or Crocodiles Unlawful

New York City Mayor Bloomers wants to know what the sugar content of that captain's hand was. Thinks maybe he was giving the gator too much sugar in his diet!