Dog lover saves pet from Alligator

 NOT THIS TIME, MR. ALLIGATOR

When the Florida Wildlife Federation (FWF) and the fSTOP foundation set up their cameras in Estero, Florida, USA earlier this year they had an aim in view. They hoped to “capture footage of wildlife in the community so that residents in the area can understand more about the animals that they live alongside including deer, racoons and wild bobcat.”



https://images.app.goo.gl/2Yb2ZwA6R6t2a2yt5 

There are 17 cameras across 15 different properties, according to Meredith Budd the Regional Policy Director at FWF. Jennifer Hassan’s article in The Washington Post Nov. 23, 2020, mentioned that the area is unique because of the abundance of wild animals.

Now the area is even more unique because of an incident that occurred there recently. 

Volunteers who agreed to be part of the project live in an area that borders wild habitat in Lee county. One of the volunteers was Richard Wilbanks. He had a new pet, a three month old puppy named Gunner. 

There was also a pond in Mr. Wilbanks’ backyard.

One morning as he was outside with Gunner, a creature “emerged from the pond in his backyard like a missile”.  It was an alligator, and it dragged the little dog into the water.

“I never thought an alligator could be that fast. It was so quick,” Wilbanks said. 

But an adrenaline rush made Wilbanks jump into the water and wrestle with the reptile to save his pet. The water came up to the man’s waist. The puppy squeaked in pain as the gator’s teeth sank into its flesh. Wilbanks bit onto the cigar in his mouth.  The ‘gator tore into his hands. The water in the pond turned pink.

Then suddenly the little pet was free. It ran up the slope from the water. The gator swam away, disappointed that he had lost his meal. Mr. Wilbanks looked at his hands and saw they “were chewed up”. He chomped on his cigar and walked up the slope away from the pond.

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“This footage was certainly not expected, and it is not what we typically get on our cameras,” Ms. Budd said. The cameras usually show animals “roaming around freely or snacking on vegetation.”

The Florida Wildlife Federation has urged residents to stay alert and “avoid lingering at the edge of large retention ponds” where alligators might be living.

They may not be quite as fortunate as Mr. Wilbanks and his little Gunner were.

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