Man bitten by alligator after hearing knock on door

A Florida man responded to a knock on the door of his home only to be bitten in the leg by a 9ft alligator waiting for him on the other side.

Scot Hollingsworth, 56, was watching television when he heard a noise at the door of the Daytona Beach home, WKMG reported.

“I jumped up and walked over to me and opened the door, walked out trying to get to the lights and barely got through the door and squeezed my leg and (her) started shaking very violently,” he told the station.

And he added: “I suspect I surprised the alligator as much as he surprised me.”

Mr Hollingsworth was taken to hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed the March 4 incident and said it sent a trapper to catch and euthanize the reptile, the station said.

The commission says the state is home to about 1.3 million alligators, which are found in all 67 counties of the state.

The agency says it routinely euthanizes “nuisance” alligators, which are 4 feet long or more and pose a threat to people or wildlife.

“Displaced alligators often try to return to their capture site. They can create problems for people or other alligators along the way. If an alligator successfully returns, capturing it again would be necessary and likely more difficult the second time around,” the agency says on its website.

“To avoid creating a problem at the release site, nuisance alligators should be moved to remote areas where they would not encounter anyone.”