Massive Alligator Bites Man During Disc Golf Game In Florida [Videos]

A man was bitten by a massive alligator when he jumped into a pond to retrieve a disc Monday, police said. The man, who was later identified as 35-year-old Richard Peel, was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officials said Peel was retrieving a disc from a pond in the park during a game of disc golf when the alligator attacked him. The incident took place at Cliff Stephens Park at 600 Fairwood Avenue in Florida.

“We heard the guy scream. So three of the guys came running over and basically, they were pulling on him as the alligator was pulling him back in the water,” Damon Walker, a witness, said.

According to witnesses, Peel retrieves wayward discs, hoping to collect a finder’s fee.

“The guy actually stabbed the alligator in the eye with a knife. So you could see the alligator's eye kind of hanging out,” Walker said.

Kyle Streck, who was playing disc golf, heard the commotion and rushed to help.

“We were playing disc golf back on the other side of the lake and heard screams. So we ran over and there were three of the other guys out here, ran across the way over here into the lake and pulled the guy out of the water, out of the gator's mouth,” Streck reportedly said.

Trappers and officers from FWC arrived at the scene and pulled the alligator out of the water and loaded it into a trailer to be taken away, police said. Trappers also removed a smaller gator from the lake.

"We noticed that this alligator was showing behaviors that it was not afraid of people," Ashley Tyler with FWC told local media.

FWC is reportedly investigating the incident. According to the commission, both the alligators removed from the pond will be euthanized.

"Relocating nuisance alligators is not a responsible option for people or alligators. Relocated alligators nearly always try to return to their capture site," FWC's website reads. "In the process of returning, they can create problems for people or other alligators along the way. If an alligator successfully returns, capturing it again would be necessary and usually more difficult the second time."

The Clearwater Police Department tweeted photos and videos from the scene.

Alligator sightings are common in Florida and there are several instances when these reptiles are seen lurking in the neighborhood. About one-quarter of the estimated 5 million American gators living in the southeastern United States are found in Florida.

In August, a 24-year-old woman had a close encounter with an encounter after the reptile attacked her and tried to drag her underwater in Florida’s Lake Hernando. The homeless woman, identified as Felicitie Gillette, was swimming in the Citrus County lake when the incident took place. She fought off the alligator -- who attempted to drag her underwater -- and escaped with only minor injuries.

However, in a tragic incident last month, a 45-year-old kindergarten teacher was killed by an alligator while walking her dog alongside a lagoon on South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island. An 8-foot alligator attacked Cassandra Cline and pulled her underwater.