A Florida guy who claims an alligator attacked him is in good spirits despite losing an arm and spending three days stranded in a swamp. In July in Parrish, Florida, Eric Merda, 43, claims he had just finished an irrigation project when he decided to stop at Lake Manatee Fish Camp to take away the trash, which led to him getting lost in the woods, according to WTVT-TV. According to Merda, he saw his truck across a body of water and dove in with the idea that he could swim to it. Merda claims that halfway across the lake, an alligator seized his arm and snapped it as it repeatedly attempted to drag him under the water.
It’s either does or die, Merda said. I was given the choice of living or dying, and chose to do the former. Merda claims that after the alligator eventually fled, he was injured and stranded in the marsh for three days before being discovered and taken by helicopter to a hospital, where his arm was severed. Merda claims that despite losing his arm, the attack has given him a renewed sense of purpose. I’m doing great,” Merda declared. I’m going up and not back down; I’m genuinely thriving.”
The day after the Merda assault, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife, a hired alligator trapper retrieved two alligators from the lake that were six feet and nine feet long. After 21 bite cases in 2021, the government reports that 22 alligator bites have been reported in Florida this year. Authorities advise locals not to feed alligators because doing so is against the law and can make the animals more hostile to humans because they identify them with food availability. Merda commanded, “Leave the alligators alone.” “More often than not, it’s the individuals throwing rocks and feeding them that are being attacked, not the people getting attacked.”
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