A fed gator is a dead gator — and sometimes it takes somebody with it
A 71-year-old fisherman was killed by an 11-foot-8 alligator at a Winter Garden park pond — Florida's second fatal gator attack this year, and a textbook case of what feeding gators leads to.
- Steve Hamilton, 71, was fishing from shore at Dr. Bradford Memorial Park when the gator dragged him in.
- Other gators in the water kept rescuers from reaching him; the animal was trapped and removed.
- FWC: fed alligators lose their natural wariness and associate people with food; feeding them is illegal in Florida.
- A gator that loses its fear is not relocated — it is killed.
Steve Hamilton, 71, was fishing the shore of a pond at Dr. Bradford Memorial Park in Winter Garden on Friday evening when an alligator measured at 11 feet 8 inches dragged him into the water and killed him. Other gators in the water kept rescuers from reaching him. The animal was trapped and removed.
It is Florida's second fatal alligator attack this year — and it follows the pattern wildlife officials warn about. Alligators that are fed lose their natural wariness and learn to associate people with food, which is why feeding them is illegal in Florida.
A gator that loses its fear of people doesn't get relocated. It gets killed. Every hand-feeding video teaches people to step closer and teaches gators not to be afraid.