A man in Sarasota is recovering after he thought an alligator was a dog and it bit off a chunk of his leg.
According to WTSP, the incident occured last night at around 12:30 a.m. at the Warm Mineral Springs Motel in North Port, after the man approached the animal while walking along a dark path.
“He stated the figure appeared to look like a dog with a long leash, which is why he wasn’t hesitant to move out of the way,” said a sheriff’s office spokesperson to the station.
Deputies claim the alligator bit the man’s right leg “ripping off a chunk of his muscle,” reports WTSP.
The man is now recovering at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, and the gator was captured and removed from the area by trapper.
Last week, a man in Largo was killed after reportedly attempting to retrieve Frisbee golf discs from a pond, and was attacked by a gator.
Both incidents come as Florida is at the peak of alligator mating season, which often runs from May to July depending on temperatures. During this period, it’s not uncommon to see gators roaming around and being more active, says the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.