Elderly Lakeland man bitten on foot by 9-foot alligator

An alligator bite sent one person to the hospital in Lakeland Monday afternoon.

According to Polk Fire Rescue, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and Florida Fish & Wildlife officers are on the scene in the Cypress Lakes retirement community. An 85-year old man was bitten on the foot at a pond along the Big Cypress Golf and Country Club there.

Cypress Lakes is a golf-centric 55-and-over community off U.S. 98 north of Lakeland with many small ponds.

The man had waded into the edge of a pond to scare away bird when he was bitten.  There was no immediate word about the severity of his injury.

FWC says a licensed trapper found and harvested the alligator, which measured 9 feet and 9 inches long.