Diver bit by gator

[LKunze]

Diver bitten by gator while retrieving golf balls in Boynton Beach

By Chrystian Tejedor
sun-sentinel.com
Posted April 26 2006, 8:36 AM EDT

BOYNTON BEACH -- A 7-foot-long alligator on Tuesday bit a 43-year-old diver retrieving golf balls in a lake at a golf course, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

Stephen Martinez, of Coral Springs, was taken to JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, where he was treated for the bite on his left hand.

It's serious, but certainly not life-threatening,'' said Palm Beach County sheriff's Lt. Rolando Silva.

Martinez was hired by the city to retrieve golf balls from a lake at the Lakes of Boynton Beach golf course, at 8020 Jog Road, when the gator bit him about 1 p.m.

He was was in murky water in the lake when a group of golfers heard him yell for help, said course manager Dan Hager.

The alligator apparently bit Martinez's air tank and tried to pull him under the water. Martinez grabbed a utility knife strapped to his dive suit and tried to stab the animal. That's when it bit his arm, Hager said.

Officials were not sure on Tuesday if the gator was startled or if it was protecting a nest.

A trapper who was called to the golf course nabbed the 7-foot gator, which was destroyed because it was considered a "nuisance alligator," said Dani Moschella, an FWCC spokeswoman.

Alligators are considered to be a nuisance typically when they lose their fear of humans and may see people as a source of food.

Alligator attacks are unusual in Palm Beach County, Moschella said. There have been only 16 recorded in the county since 1948. One attack in 1993 resulted in a death.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[DiveCaptDean]

Alligators are considered to be a nuisance typically when they lose their fear of humans and may see people as a source of food.////////

Does this also mean that people are considered a nuisance when they lose their fear of alligators....????

only a dumbass would value a couple of golf balls enough to dive into a alligator filled pond in Florida

[MAXFACTOR]

I watched a show on the guys who dive for balls.  They retrieve about   one million dollars worth the balls a year.  They have been doing it for about 10 years.  Its actually a pretty lucative business in Florida and elsewhere. 

So whats the moral of the story.   
For x number of balls  retrieved and every hand thats bit, 
a pair of alligator shoes are born.   

YA HAF TA WATCH OUT,  those gators are being threathened by the Pythons in the everglades.  DATZ  FOR YOU CHUCK. ;D
Maxfactor

[DiverQueen]

Hey Hey, "The Meadows at Mystic Lake" Golf COurse opens for business next month.  Anyone want to apply for the Ball Diver job? >  I would, but it would be a "Conflict of Interest" with the job that I already have!  Not to mention...Fun...and no chance for  alligators here in MN unless it's someone's escaped exotic pet!