or


[07/11/12 - 09:39 AM]
History's "Swamp People" Helps 17 Year Old During Gator Attack - Season Finale Tomorrow at 9pm ET
The cable channel recounts the story from Fort Myers, Florida's WPTV.

[via press release from History]

HISTORY's SWAMP PEOPLE will air its season finale tomorrow night, THURSDAY, JULY 12th at 9pm ET/8c, but during this current season, one young man was paying attention to his favorite series! Kaleb Langdale who was attacked yesterday by an alligator, used methods employed on SWAMP PEOPLE to try to fight the gator - however ultimately freeing himself when the animal bit off his arm.

http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/national/kaleb-langdale-today-show-alligator-attack-spotlight-moore-haven-teen-describes-fighting-off-gator

Kaleb Langdale Today Show alligator attack spotlight: Moore Haven teen describes fighting off gator

07/12/2012

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- When Kaleb Langdale realized the 10-foot alligator was not going to let go of his arm, he knew he had a life-saving decision to make.

"If I could break my arm off I had a chance. If I couldn't break my arm off, I was dead," the 17-year-old said Tuesday from his Fort Myers hospital room, not long after losing part of his right arm just below the elbow.

Langdale, known to family and friends as Fred, was in good spirits despite knowing that the portion of his arm that was torn off - and which was eventually retrieved from the alligator's stomach - could not be re-attached.

And Langdale, born in Loxahatchee and raised in Moore Haven, said he isn't afraid of going back into the water.

"I've grown up in the water all my life," he said. "And this one little accident isn't going to stop me."

Langdale's brave fight against the alligator drew national attention Tuesday, a day after the attack on the Caloosahatchee River, just west of Lake Okeechobee.

It all started when Langdale and his friends were doing what they usually do on a hot Florida afternoon - swim in a race across the river.

It was about 2 p.m. and Langdale was the first to make it across. On the swim back to the docks where they started, Langdale was trailing the pack. That's when friend Abraham Cisneros saw the alligator swimming toward Langdale at a high speed.

Three other friends also watched from the dock as the gator approached.

"It came as fast as it could out of the bushes," said 14-year-old Gary Beck, "and it was coming straight for Fred."

Langdale turned and saw the gator, then submerged his body beneath the water, with only his eyes above the surface, hoping the gator would lose track of him. It didn't work.

"He kept coming straight at me," Langdale said.

When the gator was about a foot in front of him, Langdale said he reached for the area of skin beneath the animal's jaw, a move he'd seen on one of his favorite TV shows Swamp People.

When that didn't work, he used his feet to push the gator away, but it eventually caught hold of his right arm, dragging him under the water. The gator then did what's known as a "death roll," a move in which a gator tries to rip apart its victim. Langdale said he felt the bones break in his arm. He tried to swim away but because the arm was not severed, he couldn't.

With another jerk, the arm finally severed and he was able to make it back to the side of the river away from his friends. He by then had yelled to his friends, "Call an ambulance, my arm's gone," said friend Matt Baker, 16, the third friend swimming with Langdale. The friends drove to the other side of the river to get Langdale, but rescue personnel had already arrived.

"He wasn't crying," Baker said. "He was mainly in shock.

"I just saw him holding his arm, what was left of it."

Felinda Langdale, Fred's mother, said her son had wrapped part of his severed stump with whatever cobwebs he could find to stop the bleeding. He was then transported by helicopter to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers.

Authorities caught the alligator about four hours later, killed it and retrieved Langdale's arm, but doctors were unable to reattach the limb.

Jorge Pino, spokesman for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said Tuesday that the Caloosahatchee River near the Moore Haven area is known to have large alligators.

He said the attack on Langdale Monday, however, could've been a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Millions of people swim in Florida lakes and canals during the summer months," Pino said, "(without) human-alligator encounters."

Langdale, who attends Moore Haven Junior/Senior High School, has two older siblings, Rebecca, and Jyles, who is a Lee County sheriff's deputy. When Fred isn't hanging out with his friends, he's fishing, hog hunting, playing video games or going out on his air boat.

"He's a very outgoing, fun-loving, friendly and very funny kind of guy," Baker said. "Everybody loves him."

Langdale's mother, who was in the hospital with her son, she if it was up to her, he wouldn't be back in the water. But despite what happened, she said he already recognizes the big picture.

"He's glad (the alligator) took his arm and not one of his buddies."

His friends were grateful as well.

"If the alligator hadn't gone after him, me and Abraham would've been dead," Baker said. "We wouldn't have known what to do."





  [july 2012]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· SWAMP PEOPLE (HISTORY)





[11/26/24 - 03:01 PM]
Video: New Games, New Stakes - "Squid Game" Season 2 Main Trailer and Key Art "Round and Round" Unveiled
With its premiere just around the corner on December 26, the trailer delivers an electrifying glimpse into the deadly games and gripping character dynamics that await fans worldwide.

[11/26/24 - 02:34 PM]
Video: Paramount+ with Showtime Debuts Official Trailer for Showtime's "Dexter: Original Sin"
The series premieres Friday, December 13 on streaming and on demand for Paramount+ subscribers with the Paramount+ with Showtime plan, before making its on-air US debut on Sunday, December 15 at 10pm ET/PT.

[11/26/24 - 01:15 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 vs. CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers"
"Nightline" posted double-digit gains week to week across the board, hitting a 6-week high in overall viewers and 7-week highs in both key Adult demos.

[11/26/24 - 12:03 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of Nov. 18: "The Merry Gentlemen" and "A Man on the Inside" Take the Top Spots
Season 2 of the animated series "Arcane" laid siege to #2 (6.4M views), while Season 1 took #5 with 2.2M views.

[11/26/24 - 11:44 AM]
TNT Sports to Debut "Evolve and Flex" with Lance Fresh Friday, Dec. 6, on truTV and Max
The show is hosted by sports-lifestyle expert Lance Fresh and features candid conversations with guests to discuss how life's events have contributed to their sense of style.

[11/26/24 - 11:19 AM]
MGM+ Announces 2025 Premiere Date for "NFL Icons" Season Four
In the upcoming fourth season, the docuseries will feature Pro Football Hall of Famers Joe Montana, DeMarcus Ware, Kurt Warner and Gale Sayers.

[11/26/24 - 10:24 AM]
Video: "Rogue Heroes" (MGM+ 2025 Series) Season 2 Tease
"Rogue Heroes" is a dramatized account of how the world's greatest Special Forces unit, the SAS, was formed under extraordinary circumstances in the darkest days of World War Two.

[11/26/24 - 10:09 AM]
Video: Acorn TV Releases Official Trailer for Second Season of Hit Australian Drama, "Darby and Joan"
The new season debuts with a two-episode premiere, exclusively on Acorn TV, on December 30, followed by weekly episodes through January 27.

[11/26/24 - 10:01 AM]
ABC News Studios Announces Fourth Season of Hit True-Crime Series "Wild Crime," Streaming Dec. 5 Only on Hulu
"Wild Crime: Eleven Skulls" delves into the haunting 2012 disappearance of Samantha Koenig, an 18-year-old Anchorage barista last seen leaving her place of work with an unknown man on a dark winter night.

[11/26/24 - 08:32 AM]
Bravo Greenlights "Vanderpump Rules" Season 12 with a New Group of SUR-vers
In addition, "Vanderpump Rules" will celebrate the past decade of heartbreaks, friendship rifts and scandals with a retrospective special highlighting the past 11 seasons.

[11/26/24 - 08:30 AM]
Video: Paramount+ and Nickelodeon Reveal Teaser, First-Look Images and Premiere Date for "Henry Danger The Movie"
"Henry Danger The Movie" will be available to stream in the U.S. on Paramount+ Friday, January 17, and premiere on Nickelodeon that same day at 7 p.m. (ET/PT).

[11/26/24 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Makayla's Voice: A Letter to the World" - Official Teaser - Netflix
Makayla is a teenage girl who has spent her life grappling with a rare form of autism that rendered her essentially nonverbal until her parents, filled with unwavering belief in their daughter's potential, embarked on a transformative journey to discover the true depth of Makayla's inner world.

[11/26/24 - 08:01 AM]
HBO Announces Ian Bonhote & Peter Ettedgui's Award-Winning "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story," Debuting December 7 on HBO and Max
The critically acclaimed film had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and recently won six Critics Choice Documentary Awards.

[11/26/24 - 08:00 AM]
HGTV Greenlights Gutsy Las Vegas Renovation Series "Sin City Rehab" (wt) Starring Indomitable Designer Alison Victoria
The eight-episode series will document Alison, best known for her Emmy-nominated series "Windy City Rehab," taking the biggest gamble of her career as she expands her successful design business out West.

[11/26/24 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "The Manny" Season 2 - Release Date Announcement - Netflix
A busy executive hires a cowboy to care for her kids in a moment of panic. Little does she know he'll challenge her views of gender roles - and of love.