Golfer Loses Arm To Gator

A colleague heard this story in on the radio news, so naturally I went searching:

Authorities in South Carolina say James Wiencek, 77, of Chagrin Falls, is recovering after he lost his arm below the elbow on Thursday. Wiencek was attacked by an alligator while playing golf on Fripp Island.

Investigators say Wiencek was playing the 11th hole of the island’s Ocean Creek Golf Course and leaned down to pick up his ball when a 10-foot long alligator grabbed his arm. A spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources says Wiencek was golfing with his son James, Jr., who lives in Chagrin Falls and owns a vacation home in South Carolina.

Dave Corneliussen, an animal trapper told FOX 8, “Alligators don’t have any molars, like we do - is what we like to say - and they tear things off, part of their death roll is to rip things off and they swallow them whole or they tuck it away and let them decompose.”

The man’s son and fellow golfers were able to free him from the alligator’s grasp and called 911. Corneliussen was able to get the arm back and keep it on ice after the victim was rushed to the hospital.

And there’s video:

I actually didn’t see any alligators on my Florida golfing trip—much to my chagrin. But I did see this big cat: