Airboat captain loses hand to gator, faces feeding charge

EVERGLADES CITY, Fla. (AP) --
A Florida airboat captain whose hand was bit off by a 9-foot alligator faces charges of feeding of a gator.

Collier County Jail records show 63-year-old Wallace Weatherholt was charged Friday with unlawful feeding of an alligator and later posted $1,000 bond. His next court date is Aug. 22.

Weatherholt was attacked on June 12th as he was giving an Indiana family a tour of the Everglades. The family said Weatherholt hung a fish over the side of the boat and had his hand at the water's surface when the alligator attacked.

Wildlife officers tracked and euthanized the gator. Weatherholt's hand was found but could not be reattached.
A criminal investigation followed. Feeding alligators is a second-degree misdemeanor.

The arrest was first reported by the Fort Myers News-Press.


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