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James Wiencek, 77, was playing the 11th hole of Fripp's Ocean Creek Course on Oct. 8 when he bent down to pick up a golf ball at the edge of a lagoon. Wiencek apparently did not notice an alligator that lurked on the bank, and as he crouched to retrieve the ball, the gator locked its jaws around his arm, dragged him into the water and engaged him in a "death roll," a maneuver alligators use to drown and tear apart prey they cannot swallow whole.
The other members of Wiencek's golf group were able to free him from the gator's grasp, but not before his arm was torn off below the elbow.
Wiencek was taken to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Doctors there are not releasing details of his condition or saying whether they were able to surgically reattach his arm. Several attempts to contact Wiencek's family have been unsuccessful.
We hope Wiencek recovers from this gruesome ordeal. We also hope those who hear of it take heed and incorporate common-sense precautions whenever and wherever alligators might be close by. This doesn't mean needless panic at the sight of an alligator. There have been only 10 confirmed alligator attacks in the past 25 years in South Carolina, according to state's Department of Natural Resources. DNR estimates that 100,000 to 200,000 American alligators live along South Carolina's coast.
First, don't feed alligators. Experts say gators fed by humans lose their natural fear of people and learn to associate them with a feeding opportunity. This can trigger aggressive behavior and create a danger for anyone who encounters the animal.
Also, bodies of fresh water, including golf course ponds, should be approached slowly and with eyes peeled for danger. If you spot an alligator on or near the bank, back off -- neither your health nor your golf ball are worth the risk of an attack.
And don't size up the alligator to decide whether retreat is appropriate.
Wiencek was attacked by a 10-foot, 400-pound animal. Larger animals certainly live here in the Lowcountry, and even smaller ones can kill. For example, 83-year-old Gwen Williams perished in a 2007 attack by an 8-footer on Skidaway Island near Savannah, according to an Associated Press report.
Besides her attack, Williams, a Canadian woman who was on Skidaway house-sitting for her daughter, had something in common with Wiencek -- neither are from areas of the country where alligators live. Wiencek is from Ohio and reportedly was visiting his son, who owns a home on Fripp.
Thus, we are reminded it is appropriate for those of us who live here to inform our visitors of the dangers alligators can pose.
For that matter, we should remember them ourselves.
The creatures are so ubiquitous and attacks so rare here that even natives can be lulled into a false sense of security. You can see them just about every time you play golf or paddle a kayak in fresh water.
You also see them frequently on the pages of this newspaper -- a photo of a gator that appeared to be ringing the doorbell of a Sun City Hilton Head home and another more recent shot of an alligator in the surf of Hilton Head Island generated lots of interest and traffic to our Web site.
Alligators are not domesticated pets or mere accouterments of Lowcountry scenery placed here for our picture-taking pleasure.
As Wiencek's unfortunate ordeal reminds us, alligators are efficient predators worthy of our respect and caution.
