Okeechobee man attacked by 11 foot alligator while fishing
Memorial Day wasn't a good day for Antonio Prado of Okeechobee, who was attacked by an alligator while fishing.
Prado, 47, was net fishing in 2 to 3 feet of water in the Nubbin Slough canal when he was attacked by an 11 foot alligator. The gator took Prado under water. His son, Jonathon Prado, was with him and threw a pair of plyers at the gator's head until it released his father. He then pulled his father out of the water.
Prado was taken to Longwood Health Care Center in Fort Pierce with puncture wounds to his chest and arm. He underwent surgeries but no limbs were lost and he is expected to fully recover.
Immediately after the attack was reported, FWC found the gator in the same area. He was removed and euthanized. Alligators are most active in the summer months. The FWC urges Floridians and visitors to use caution and to be alert in or around water.
The FWC receives more than 16,000 alligator-related complaints annually and removes about 8,500 alligators each year when the reptiles present potential danger to people or property.
The area where Prado was attacked is 100 feet away from where Kasey Edwards was attacked last June. Edwards is the teen that swam across the canal last year and lost his arm to a 10 foot gator.
