An 11-year-old Pennsylvania boy who loves baseball is recovering after losing his hand in a frightening alligator attack during a family fishing trip in Florida, even as his father fought desperately to save him.
Brodie Terry was attacked on June 27 at Nelson’s Fish Camp in Marion County, according to WKMG. The incident happened just as he was preparing to release a fish back into the water.
The alligator, which officials said measured eight feet, seven inches long, suddenly latched onto Brodie’s hand, turning the quiet fishing outing into a frantic struggle.
“Brodie’s father jumped into the water on top of it and tried to pry his mouth open,” relative Andrew Raines told WKMG.
“The gator rolled, and that’s what ultimately severed Brodie’s hand.”
Alligators use the maneuver, often called a roll, to subdue prey by drowning it and tearing it apart.
Doctors initially worked to save Brodie’s hand, but it was later amputated. He was discharged from the hospital Friday and is now continuing his recovery at home in Pennsylvania.
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Florida wildlife officials later killed the alligator involved in the attack.
“This tragic accident has not only changed Brodie’s life but has also placed a tremendous burden on his family as they navigate the aftermath,” his family say.
“Brodie’s passion for fishing, baseball and football have always brought him joy, and now he faces the challenge of adapting to his new circumstances while holding onto the things he loves.”
Florida is home to around 1.3 million gators – and the state has recorded more than 450 attacks since 1948.
But just over 30 of those have proved to be fatal, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission revealed.
The day after Brodie was attacked, Florida hiker Brittany Clark died after a gator chomped down on her arm and twisted into a death roll.
She died en-route to a hospital as a result of the “multiple blunt force injuries of the upper extremities” she suffered.
Clark was only swimming in around three feet of water in the Econlockhatchee River when she was attacked at Little Big Econ State Forest.
