Florida man bitten in the face by an alligator while swimming
MIAMI - An alligator bit a man's face while he was swimming in a lake near Tampa.
It happened last Thursday at Lake Thonotosassa which is in Hillsborough County.
Fire rescue took the 34-year-old man to the hospital, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission which dispatched a contracted trapper to the lake and is continuing to investigate the incident.
Around 1.3 million alligators live in Florida, in all 67 counties, according to the FWC. The agency recommends people stay away from alligators and avoid handling or feeding them.
Nuisance alligators -- those that are 4 feet or longer and believed to pose a threat to people, their pets, or property -- are trapped and killed by the agency through its statewide Nuisance Alligator Program. A total of 9,442 nuisance alligators were killed in 2021, according to the FWC.
There have been at least three fatal alligator attacks in the US this year, two occurred in Florida.