Tavares man recovering after alligator bite

A Central Florida man is recovering after being bitten by an alligator.  It happened on Wednesday afternoon in Tavares, behind a home on Canal Street.  The alligator lunged at Doug Brown as he was working on a water pump, his mother told FOX 35.

"I said to Dougy, 'Watch the alligator!' and he kept looking at me, and I said, 'Here it comes!' and next thing, jumps straight up in the air and Dougy jumped up on his seat at that point, and it jumped to get his hand and he pulled his hand," explained Doreen Brown.

The 8-foot gator was trapped on Thursday by wildlife officers.  FWC believes a resident in the community may have been feeding the alligator, which would explain why it was so aggressive. Photographs of its capture were taken by the Brown's neighbor, Becky Faulkner, and sent to FOX 35.  Brown said her son may require surgery to his hand.

Fox 35 Weather Authority