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Während meines Aufenthaltes in Florida kam es zu einem tragischen Alligatorangriff, die Londoner Times berichtet wie folgt:
March 16, 2005
Truck driver eaten alive by alligator
By Simon Freeman, Times Online
A truck driver was killed and partially eaten by a 9ft alligator which had overcome its natural fear of humans after being fed tidbits by locals in Florida.
Don Owen's body was found in wetlands about 12 miles from his home in Bartow, Polk County, by fishermen on Saturday. His forearm was found in the alligator's stomach when it was trapped and killed two days later.
Although there are more than 1.5 million adult alligators in Florida, which is home to 16 million people, fatal attacks are rare and the reptiles tend to avoid human contact. Mr Owen, 56, is the 16th victim since the state began collecting records in 1948.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) has spoken to people who live around the lake and admitted petting the alligator and feeding it sandwiches.
Gary Morse, a spokesman for the commission, said: "Some people think there is no harm in throwing an occasional sandwich to a large reptile but the practice of feeding gators is dangerous, unlawful and contributes to attacks on humans.
"Feeding an alligator will cause it to lose its fear of people and become a problem."
State police today said that Mr Owen was last seen at a convenience store on Wednesday. He appeared disorientated and asked a passer-by if he could make a phone call for him, before getting back into his car and driving away.
He was reported missing the following day when he failed to arrive for work. On Saturday the remains of his body were found in Six Pound Pond. A post-mortem examination determined that he had been killed by the 8ft 9in (2.67m) alligator and trackers were sent out into the lakes to trap the creature.
Mr Morse explained that once an alligator has killed it must be destroyed. He said: "Moving a problem alligator to another area is usually not an option. It’s risky business and can create more problems than it solves. Once a gator has lost its fear of people, it doesn’t matter where you put it, it is still not afraid of people and it continues to pose a threat."
In the last decade, encroaching human development into areas occupied by wildlife has added to the conflict between man and alligator, causing the number of calls to the FWCC to rocket.
Since the nuisance alligator program began 23 years ago, it has received 240,411 complaints resulting in 100,365 alligators being culled.
Besonders bemerkenswert erscheint die Jahreszeit des Angriffs: Zu der
Zeit des Angriffs herrschten in Zentralflorida kühle Temperaturen von unter 20 Grad Celsius.
Mississippi-Alligatoren, die auch gelegentlich unverantwortlicherweise im Internet angeboten werden,sind grosswüchsige und schon daher potentiell gefährliche Krokodile
Ein etwa 65 cm langes Jungtier verursachte bei einem amerikanischen Freund eine Bissverletzung, die zu einer partiellen und andauernden Bewegungsunfähigkeit der linken Hand führte.
March 16, 2005
Truck driver eaten alive by alligator
By Simon Freeman, Times Online
A truck driver was killed and partially eaten by a 9ft alligator which had overcome its natural fear of humans after being fed tidbits by locals in Florida.
Don Owen's body was found in wetlands about 12 miles from his home in Bartow, Polk County, by fishermen on Saturday. His forearm was found in the alligator's stomach when it was trapped and killed two days later.
Although there are more than 1.5 million adult alligators in Florida, which is home to 16 million people, fatal attacks are rare and the reptiles tend to avoid human contact. Mr Owen, 56, is the 16th victim since the state began collecting records in 1948.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) has spoken to people who live around the lake and admitted petting the alligator and feeding it sandwiches.
Gary Morse, a spokesman for the commission, said: "Some people think there is no harm in throwing an occasional sandwich to a large reptile but the practice of feeding gators is dangerous, unlawful and contributes to attacks on humans.
"Feeding an alligator will cause it to lose its fear of people and become a problem."
State police today said that Mr Owen was last seen at a convenience store on Wednesday. He appeared disorientated and asked a passer-by if he could make a phone call for him, before getting back into his car and driving away.
He was reported missing the following day when he failed to arrive for work. On Saturday the remains of his body were found in Six Pound Pond. A post-mortem examination determined that he had been killed by the 8ft 9in (2.67m) alligator and trackers were sent out into the lakes to trap the creature.
Mr Morse explained that once an alligator has killed it must be destroyed. He said: "Moving a problem alligator to another area is usually not an option. It’s risky business and can create more problems than it solves. Once a gator has lost its fear of people, it doesn’t matter where you put it, it is still not afraid of people and it continues to pose a threat."
In the last decade, encroaching human development into areas occupied by wildlife has added to the conflict between man and alligator, causing the number of calls to the FWCC to rocket.
Since the nuisance alligator program began 23 years ago, it has received 240,411 complaints resulting in 100,365 alligators being culled.
Besonders bemerkenswert erscheint die Jahreszeit des Angriffs: Zu der
Zeit des Angriffs herrschten in Zentralflorida kühle Temperaturen von unter 20 Grad Celsius.
Mississippi-Alligatoren, die auch gelegentlich unverantwortlicherweise im Internet angeboten werden,sind grosswüchsige und schon daher potentiell gefährliche Krokodile
Ein etwa 65 cm langes Jungtier verursachte bei einem amerikanischen Freund eine Bissverletzung, die zu einer partiellen und andauernden Bewegungsunfähigkeit der linken Hand führte.
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