Kaleb Langdale Loses Arm from Alligator Attack, But Not His Cool

by Emily Sutherlin | July 10, 2012 at 04:11 pm

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An alligator attacked Kaleb Langdale, a teenager in Southwest Florida and bit his right arm off below the elbow, but Langdale was calm and collected as bystanders listened to his instructions and called the ambulance.

An alligator attacked 17-year-old Kaleb Langdale on Monday, severing his right arm below the elbow, but it didn’t take the Florida teenager’s sense of humor. Friends say he was happy the gator got his right arm -- not his left -- because he uses his left arm to steer his airboat.

A friend of Langdale, Gary Beck, said Langdale popped out of the water shortly after the attack. "He was waving saying, 'Call the paramedics! My arm is gone!'" Beck described.

“He’s been around alligators all his life,” the friend continued. “He’s smart enough – he knows if he offered him his arm he wouldn’t take his torso, so he was smart. He took the risk.”

He then began telling people around that he needed an ambulance, but that he was okay, it was only his right arm, not his left and he could still drive his air boat.

The teenager was flown to Lee Memorial Hospital, where he is recovering. The teen's half-digested arm was found inside the 11-foot alligator when it was hunted down and killed Monday evening.