Anyone hear about this? I was going to be one when I retire but maybe not now!

No can you post the link to the article. It sounds like he may have had a laps in judgment while showing tourist a gator.

I've been on those tour guide airboats, they hold maybe 20 people, not the small boats seen all the time. Part of the "show" is the guide slaps the side of the boat or water to summons the gator, when I saw it the gator was at least 50 yds away.

I heard about it this morning. I believe they captured and killed the gator to retrieve the guy's hand. Depending on how he was attacked, its unfortunate we decide to kill animals because we don't know how to respect their space.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2012/jun/12/gator-bites-everglades-airboat-captains-hand/

Reading between the lines...it sounds like this company was already on the FWC's radar for messing with gators. When I'am in the glades it is all too common to see the airboat operators stop and draw the gators in. Very sad to hear the man lost his hand.

Wow....get your hand bit off by a gator and then followed by a probable criminal charge for tampering with a gator. Bad day at the office.

No can you post the link to the article. It sounds like he may have had a laps in judgment while showing tourist a gator.

Like I said, this guy had a bad laps in judgment. You know the gator just didn't swim over to the boat and climb up to the pilots seat for a snack. I don't know that I'd want the hand back after being in the gators stomach for a while; I'd get a lot more laugh mileage out of a hook instead, I can see it now - "Captain Hooks Air Boat Rides"

IMHO, He got what he was asking for. End of story.

And the gator had to be killed because.............? Oh now I remember, he "attacked man".

Wow....get your hand bit off by a gator and then followed by a probable criminal charge for tampering with a gator. Bad day at the office.

thats is in fact a bad day......

I think the sad story was the older women getting her leg bit off while standing in her front yard, OMG, REALLY !!!

Gators should be delt with by pro's not dumba##es who want to tempt fate, I am with traveler on this one...he got what he deserved.

I personally have no tolerance for this. Sorry...They feed the alligators and I get aggressively stalked while bank fishing. Gators who aren't fed by humans generally leave when people are around. We couldn't even get close enough for a decent picture way back in the Suwannee swamps because those gators don't get fed! It's a known fact. I feel sorry for the gator.

I have a feeling he was feeding gators to get them to come to the boat for photo opportunities.

That is against the law and the last thing we in Bass boats need is a Gator crawling up the back of a boat for a "snack"! The stern sits low enough in the water as it is. We see enough of them at a responsible distance without a need to get "closer".

Tourists need to come with better cameras/lens rather than snapping things with a camera phone. That comes with the "i've got to get closer to get a better picture" idea.