"It took a bite out of my head and a big chunk out of my ear,"

[CaddyDaddy77]

This kids hard!


Thursday, May 20, 2004 Posted: 12:27 PM EDT (1627 GMT)

Malcolm Lock, left, and his mother talk to CNN's "American Morning" about Malcolm's harrowing experience.
http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2004/US/South...igator.boy.jpg



A 12-year-old Florida boy is recovering after fighting off an alligator. Affiliate Central Florida News 13 reports. (May 20)


DELTONA, Florida (AP) -- An alligator dragged a 12-year-old swimmer underwater in a lake, but the boy punched the reptile and swam safely to shore.

Malcolm Locke was treated for cuts and scrapes that were not considered life threatening.

He was bit while swimming Wednesday in Lake Diana, near his grandmother's house just north of Orlando.

He saw the alligator's tail first, he said. "It was coming right at me," he told NBC's "Today" show Thursday.

Malcolm, who is 5 feet, 4 inches tall, tried to swim away, but the alligator, which was 4 to 6 feet long, attacked his head and pulled him under water, officials said.

"It took a bite out of my head and a big chunk out of my ear," Malcolm said.

He punched the alligator, and "it just squirmed away," he said. He swam to shore, and a neighbor drove him to a hospital.

A trapper was sent to the lake to remove the alligator.

The boy's mother, Misty Warren, said the family has seen alligators in the area before, but none had ever bothered them.

The best thing to do during an alligator attack is struggle, make noise and create confusion, said Joy Hill, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.

"Malcolm did the right thing," Hill said. "He fought the alligator and it let him go."

[milton]

Saw the interview on the Today show this morning. That kid was a riot. While Katy Kurick (sp?) was thanking him for coming on the show the kid just let out a big yawn and mummbled something incoherent. The look on Katy's face was priceless.

[phUnk]

Isn't it just "instinct" to try beat the shit out of the thing that's eating you?

[13]

Originally posted by phUnk
Isn't it just "instinct" to try beat the shit out of the thing that's eating you?

Violence is NEVER necessary!

[bdog]

Originally posted by 13
Violence is NEVER necessary!

...So you would just passively surrender and become gator food? I doubt it. I think survival is instinct. Primal brain function.

[summit]

saw that interview on cnn... he was slow... gator took out too much of the poor kids head :-( or maybe he was to begin with and thats how the gator got him

[phUnk]

Originally posted by bdog
I think sarcasm is instinct. Primal brain function.

[13]

Originally posted by bdog
...So you would just passively surrender and become gator food? I doubt it. I think survival is instinct. Primal brain function.

No, I'd whip out my gat and bust a cap in its' jaw.

"I grew up in suburban Detroit, beyatch!"

[Sublime]

Originally posted by 13
No, I'd whip out my gat and bust a cap in its' jaw.

"I grew up in suburban Detroit, beyatch!"

Suburban Detroit is a harcore area. You would have whipped out a AK on his ass.

[13]

They only have AKs in Little Lebanon.

[warthog]

Swimming in the lakes here right now is about as smart as camping in bear territory. Gator mating season is in full swing, and you just don't go in the water. That gator was looking to get it on, and now he is dead. Stupid move on the kid's part.

[seldon]

Originally posted by 13
They only have AKs in Little Lebanon.

What about Little Syria? Aren't they cool enough to have AKs as well?

[powderhound]

looks like the croc that bit him was his mom.