Alligator bites man; man pokes back and wins

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

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Trappers caught the gator that bit Messier. (Slideshow)

An man hunting golf balls was attacked by an alligator Wednesday at the Timber Greens Golf Course in New Port Richey.

Vernon Messier of Lutz, whose job is retrieving golf balls from ponds on the course, was in about 10 feet from shore near hole number 5 when he felt himself getting pulled under water. He gouged at the seven-foot gator's eyes and pried its mouth from his leg to free himself.

Nicholas Yocca, who lives near the course, said he watches the gator every day. Wednesday morning he heard Messier's screams for help and arrived in time to see golfers pulling him from the pond.

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"He said the only way he could get the alligator to release him is if he poked him in the eye, and the gator let go," Messier said.

A trapper removed the gator, because under Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) rules, when an alligator bites a person in an unprovoked attack, the alligator is destroyed. Since 1948, the FWC says it has documented 356 attacks on humans, of which 25 were fatal.

Messier, 57, was not seriously injured and drove himself to the hospital.

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