American alligator with open jaws (© Ron Dahlquist/Getty Images)

Man charged with illegally feeding gator that bit off his hand

7/30/2012

To add serious insult to injury, a 63-year-old airboat captain Wallace Weatherholt in Florida was charged with illegally feeding alligators after a 9-foot-long gator chomped off his hand. Officials determined after an investigation that Weatherholt had been dangling a fish over the side of his boat while touring with family through the Everglades – a fish that served as merely an appetizer to the hand the giant alligator took when it came to the surface. Feeding alligators is a second degree misdemeanor in Florida, though in this case you’d think the crime would be punishment enough without taking the man to trial. The alligator was caught and euthanized by officials. [Source]

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Shouldn't losing your hand be punishment enough?