9:55 AM EDT, June 26, 2007

VENICE

A Tennessee man who lost his ball in a golf course pond nearly lost a limb when an 11-foot alligator latched on to his arm and pulled him in, authorities said.

Bruce Burger, 50, managed to free himself after being chomped by the gator Monday afternoon. He was trying to retrieve his ball from a pond on the sixth hole at the Lake Venice Golf Club.

The alligator latched on to Burger's right forearm and pulled him in the pond, said Gary Morse, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He used his left arm to beat on the reptile until it freed him.

"I saw him reach down to get his ball and he yelled ... 'Help. Help. I've been bitten by a gator,"' said Janet Pallo, who was playing the fifth hole and ran over to drive the man to the clubhouse.

Burger, from Lenore City, Tenn., was taken to a hospital but was not seriously injured, Morse said today.

It took seven Fish and Wildlife officers an hour to trap the one-eyed alligator, which measured 10 feet, 11 inches, Morse said.

The pond at the sixth hole has a "Beware of Alligator" sign posted because the staff is aware that a large alligator likes to hang out there.

"Unfortunately, that's part of Florida," course general manager Rod Parry said. "There's wildlife in these ponds."

Copyright © 2007, Orlando Sentinel

Submitted on 06/26/2007

Submitted by: Steve M.
Reference: orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-bk-gator062607,0,2521481.story?coll=orl_tab01_layout

Copyright © 2007 DarwinAwards.com

James said:
Neutral: Honorable Mention
I'd normally toss this as an accident, but there WAS a warning sign, and the visual is just too funny to pass up! Thanks, Steve!

Shadow said:
Definitely Toss: Other
i disagree with james, even with a sign you cant see a gator, so i think its an unfortunate man against nature type accident

Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention
I just came back from a month in Australia and saw some excellent demonstrations of why you should abide by those crocodile/alligator warning signs. They can sneak up on you in murky water without ever breaking the surface so you have no idea that they're even near you. They can also lunge half their body length out of the water faster than you could possibly react. Any time I see a croc/gator warning sign I stay well away from the water. Thanks for sending this in, Steve.

Chip said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention
Florida+water=gator. A simple formula that just about anyone who has been in Florida more than 5 minutes understands. There was a warning sign. There was water. It was Florida. I like the little bit of humor added with the fact that this was a one-eyed gator too. Thanks for sending this in, Steve