Largo, Florida - A Florida man paid the ultimate price for ignoring signs warning of alligators when he went searching for Frisbees in a lake at a disc golf course in St. Petersburg.

The Largo Police Department told the Associated Press that "a gator was involved" in the death of a man at John S. Taylor Park in Largo, a suburb of St. Petersburg.

The victim was in the water looking for discs and Frisbees when he died from a possible alligator attack.

The course at Taylor Park is set along a lake, which features prominent "no swimming" signs due to the presence of gators.

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According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC), fatalities and serious injuries from an alligator encounter are rare: "The likelihood of a Florida resident being seriously injured during an unprovoked alligator incident in Florida is roughly only one in 3.1 million."

On average, the FWC says there are 8 unprovoked bites per year in the sunshine state. An unprovoked bite is "defined as bites on people by wild alligators, which were not provoked by handling or intentional harassment."

Since 1948, there have been 26 human fatalities from unprovoked alligator incidents and 442 bite incidents in Florida. In 2021 there were 7 major incidents but zero fatalities.

Alligator trappers and police responded to the incident at Taylor Lake. The investigation is ongoing and police have told people to avoid the lake for now.

Anyone who encounters an Alligator should call the toll-free Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission's Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 1‐866‐FWC‐GATOR (392‐4286).