WARNING THIS POST CONTAINS GRAPHIC PHOTO!!!!
It appears that a day of snorkeling at Lake Moultrie ended with a man fighting for his life after a gator severed his arm in South Carolina’s worst gator attack.
Bill Hedden, 59, was in critical condition at the Medical University of South Carolina. His arm, retrieved from the belly of the alligator after wildlife officers shot it, was on ice while doctors evaluated whether it could be reattached, said Bill Salisbury, Berkeley County Rescue Squad captain.
Wildlife officials said it was one of the worst gator attacks in the state, but no one saw it except the victim.
Hedden stumbled into a party of picnickers with his arm missing and blood gushing from his wound. Five nurses were among those at the gathering and put ice on his wound and kept him awake until paramedics could arrive.
Jerome Bien followed the man’s trail of blood to the shore, where he saw the gator with victim’s arm in its jaw. “He was just smiling at me,” Bien said.
Department of Natural Resources officers showed up later and shot the animal, which was nearly 12-feet long and weight about 550 pounds. The officers cut the gator open and removed the man’s arm, which was bagged, put in an ice cooler and rushed to the hospital with a police escort.
Photo Allegedly Taken While Bystanders Waited for Wildlife Officials to Arrive and Kill the Gator
Just like bears & cougars the American Alligator is a predator that given the opportunity will attack man and on his turf he is one tough critter. People can not under estimate the risks they take when we enter their habitat. Sometimes I wonder if our society desensitizes us from the realities of the natural world around us. Those cute cuddle creatures we see on the TV are not as they are often depicted in shows. Swimming in areas that have Alligators is never a good idea.
Hopefully Mr. Hedden will survive this attack and that doctors will be able to reattach his arm.
