3-legged gator gets aggressive with fisherman at Orange County park

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A three-legged alligator is making some Orange County fishermen nervous, because it keeps stealing their catches.

The fishermen at Blanchard Park told Channel 9's Jeff Deal there are several gators that hang out in the lake, which sits along Dean Road, but they said one in particular is extra aggressive.

Witnesses said the three-legged gators seems to hang around where people are fishing and when a fish is caught and starts flipping around in the water, it goes after the catch.

"You got your bass, brim, your blue gill, your shell crackers," said Edwin Grady of the different types of fish in the lake.

Grady said most fishermen know about the three-legged gator that terrorizes those who fish.

"He's down here all the time," said Grady.

Witnesses said the gator is roughly 9-feet long and aggressive, which could be in relation to the fact that he's missing a leg.

"He's missing his leg, a right front leg," said witness Tony Jenkins.

Jenkins captured cellphone video of the three-legged gator after it snatched a fish that a young man was trying to reel in.

In the video, you can see the fisherman trying to free his line, but the gator eventually breaks it, swimming off with the catch.

"He walked around to get a better angle to get this fish from the gator's mouth. The gator wouldn't let go," said Jenkins.

Jenkins said he's seen other gators in the lake, but the three-legged one seems to be much more comfortable around people and more willing to go after the easy meal on the other end of a fishing line.

"He's accustomed to us humans and us fishing," said Jenkins. "He'll maybe one day take it a little bit further."

Others are concerned because the park draws a lot of people during warm weather days.

WFTV