A Florida man answered a knock at his home’s front door only to be bitten on the leg by a 9ft alligator waiting for him on the other side.
Scot Hollingsworth, 56, was watching TV when he heard a bump at the door at the home in Daytona Beach, reported told WKMG.
“I jumped up and headed over and opened the door, stepped out while trying to reach the lights and barely got out the door and got my leg clamped on and (it) started shaking really violently,” he told the station.
And he added: “I suspect I surprised the alligator as much as he surprised me.”
Mr Hollingsworth was taken to hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed the 4 March incident and said they sent a trapper to catch and euthanise the reptile, the station said.
The commission says the state is home to around 1.3 million alligators, which are found in all 67 of the state’s counties.
The agency says it routinely euthanizes “nuisance” alligators, which are 4 feet long or larger and pose a threat to people or wildlife.
“Relocated alligators often try to return to their capture site. They can create problems for people or other alligators along the way. If an alligator successfully returns, capturing it again would be necessary and likely more difficult the second time,” the agency says on its website.
“To avoid creating a problem at the release site, nuisance alligators would need to be relocated to remote areas where they would not encounter people.”
