Brodie Terry, 11, was releasing a fish back into the Ocklawaha River when something emerged from the water without warning. An 8-foot-7-inch alligator clamped onto his arm and would not let go.
His father did not think twice: he climbed onto the animal’s back and tried to force its jaw open with his hands. The alligator rolled over on itself—a typical maneuver to tear apart its prey—and fractured several bones in Brodie’s arm before finally letting go of him on the dock, on June 27.
At the hospital, doctors tried through several surgeries to save his hand. They were unsuccessful: they had to amputate it at the wrist. The alligator was captured and euthanized by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. Brodie is already home, but a physical and mental rehabilitation that is only just beginning awaits him.