WEIRSDALE. DAVID JONES, WESH TWO NEWS. AND VERY FEW PEOPLE KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO COME FACE TO FACE WITH AN ALLIGATOR. BUT THIS MAN DOES. A GATOR RIPPED OFF CARSTEN KIEFER’S ARM. SIX YEARS AGO. AND THIS WAS HIM IN THE HOSPITAL RIGHT AFTER I TALKED TO HIM EARLIER TONIGHT ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE. IT’S A BIT OF SHOCK ALL OF A SUDDEN TO HAVE A, YOU KNOW, 12 FOOT ALLIGATOR ATTACHED TO YOUR TO YOUR ARM, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE HE DIDN’T REALLY I DON’T THINK HE REALIZED HE HAD AHOLD OF ME TO BEGIN WITH. CARSTEN KIEFER WILL NEVER FORGET THAT MOMENT IN 2020. HE WAS OUT GATOR HUNTING ON LAKE JESUP WHEN AN ALLIGATOR THEY HOOKED, PUSHED OFF THE BOTTOM OF THE CANAL AND GOT RIGHT INTO THE BOAT, LATCHING ON TO HIM. I RELIVED THE MOMENT OVER AND OVER AGAIN, AND I STILL REMEMBER THE SOUND OF THE SKIN RIP AND THE BONES BREAK, BUT I CAN’T REMEMBER THE ALLIGATOR ATTACHED TO MY ARM. ONCE THE GATOR RIPPED OFF HIS ARM, IT DROPPED IT AND THEN WENT BACK INTO THE WATER. THIS PICTURE SHOWS KIEFER IN THE HOSPITAL, HIS ARM BANDAGED. SURGEONS WERE ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY REATTACH IT, BUT YOU CAN SEE IN THIS X-RAY IT TOOK TWO PLATES AND 17 SCREWS. NOW KIEFER IS BACK AT WORK AS A PARAMEDIC AND HAS EVEN GOTTEN BACK IN THE WATER. HIS BIGGEST MESSAGE? NOT TO BE AFRAID OF ALLIGATORS. THEY’RE NOT GOING TO ATTACK YOU UNLESS YOU EITHER HARASS THEM OR YOU MESS WITH THEM DURING MATING SEASON. AND IF THEY DO, IT’S FREAK ACCIDENTS. AND RIGHT NOW IT IS MATING SEASON. SO JUST REMEMBER, ALLIGATORS ARE MORE ACTIVE AND TERRITORIAL. ACCORDING TO FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE, ALLIGATOR MATING SEASON BEGINS WITH COURTSHIP. IN EARLY APRIL, THE PEAKS MAY. IN JUNE, FWC SUGGESTS YOU ONLY SWIM IN DESIGNATED AREAS DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS AND NEVER APPROACH OR FEED. GATORS ALSO KEEP PETS AWAY FROM THE WATER, AND IF YOU ARE OUT PADDLING OR CANOEING, MAKE SURE YOUR HANDS AND FEET STAY INSIDE TH
Florida man recalls alligator attack that tore off his arm 6 years ago
Updated: 10:16 PM EDT Jun 28, 2026
Six years after an alligator bit off Carsten Kieffer’s arm, he shared his experience. In 2020, Kieffer was gator hunting on Lake Jessup when he said a 12-foot alligator attacked him. “When we hooked up to the gator, he was able to push off the bottom of the canal, and then right into the boat, where he then got a hold of me,” Kieffer said. “It was a bit of a shock, all of a sudden, to have a 12-foot alligator attached to you, especially because I don’t think he realized he had a hold of me.Kieffer said the gator started to do the death roll and that’s when his arm ripped off. “I’ve re-lived the moment over and over again, and I still remember the sound of the skin ripping and the bones breaking, but I can’t remember the alligator attached to my arm,” Kieffer said. Once the gator ripped off his arm, Kieffer said the reptile dropped it and retreated to the water. That allowed Kieffer’s friends to save the arm and surgeons successfully reattached it. He ended up with two plates and 17 screws in the lower part of his arm to put it back together, but said it’s 90-percent back to normal. It took him four years before he could return to the water, but said he has been back since and urges everyone not to fear alligators. “They’re not going to attack you unless you either harass them or you mess with them during mating season, and if they do, it’s freak accidents,” Kieffer said.
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. —
Six years after an alligator bit off Carsten Kieffer’s arm, he shared his experience.
In 2020, Kieffer was gator hunting on Lake Jessup when he said a 12-foot alligator attacked him.
“When we hooked up to the gator, he was able to push off the bottom of the canal, and then right into the boat, where he then got a hold of me,” Kieffer said. “It was a bit of a shock, all of a sudden, to have a 12-foot alligator attached to you, especially because I don’t think he realized he had a hold of me.
Kieffer said the gator started to do the death roll and that’s when his arm ripped off.
“I’ve re-lived the moment over and over again, and I still remember the sound of the skin ripping and the bones breaking, but I can’t remember the alligator attached to my arm,” Kieffer said.
Once the gator ripped off his arm, Kieffer said the reptile dropped it and retreated to the water. That allowed Kieffer’s friends to save the arm and surgeons successfully reattached it. He ended up with two plates and 17 screws in the lower part of his arm to put it back together, but said it’s 90-percent back to normal.
It took him four years before he could return to the water, but said he has been back since and urges everyone not to fear alligators.
“They’re not going to attack you unless you either harass them or you mess with them during mating season, and if they do, it’s freak accidents,” Kieffer said.