A 13-year-old boy was bitten by an alligator near a Winter Springs creek, according to Seminole County fire officials and a 911 call transcript.
The attack happened last week when Florida teen Gabriel Klimis was walking along the bank of the water at Howell Creek Trestle in Winter Springs.
“I just got bit by a gator,” Klimis said to 911 dispatchers.
“I’m OK though. I can walk and I can stand. I’m fine, it just stings a little, but I’m good.”
Klimis said he and his friends were swimming in the creek and started to leave because of an oncoming storm, according to a police report. He was walking along the water when the alligator jumped out of the water and bit his right hip, he told police.
“I just felt a tug on me, and I already knew what it was from the start …” Klimis told Orlando’s News 6. “I just slapped the water and started, like, trying to push him off of me.”
Klimis said he used a stick to pry open the alligator’s grasp. The animal swam away, and the teen was able to make a 911 call.
The following day, The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission released a statement that read: “On June 20, 2023, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) received a report of a juvenile who was bitten by an alligator near Howell Creek in Seminole County. The FWC responded to the scene and the victim was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. A trapper was dispatched and the FWC is investigating the incident.”
In an update Thursday, FWC officials said they trapped an approximately 8-foot alligator. They said they “are fairly confident this is the alligator from the incident, as it was found in the same location.”
We’re in the full swing of alligator season in Florida, which typically runs from May to June, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
It’s not uncommon to find large alligators in places they don’t belong, looking for a mate, at this time of year.
There are roughly 1.3 million alligators in the state of Florida and they can be found in all 67 counties, the FWC says.
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