An elderly woman was killed by two alligators in a lake near her home, officials in Sarasota County, Florida, said late Friday. Authorities said the alligators grabbed her after she fell into the water.
At approximately 7:47 p.m., the woman was seen falling into a lake along the Boca Royale Golf and Country Club in Englewood, according to a statement from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. The woman was “struggling to stay afloat” before two nearby alligators grabbed her, authorities said.
The woman, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities then captured the alligators and removed them from the lake.
This is not the first alligator death this year. In June, a man was killed after an alligator pulled him into a lake in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Weeks earlier, a 47-year-old man found dead in a lake full of alligators was found missing three limbs.
An alligator inhabits the Wakodahatchee Wetlands on June 27, 2022 in Delray Beach, Florida. BRUCE BENNETT/Getty Images
The animals have been spotted multiple times in the Southeast in recent months, and two have even been spotted as far north as Wisconsin.
Although they often attract national attention, alligator bites are relatively rare, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. In 2021, the commission said there were an average of eight unprovoked bites per year in the state over the past 10 years that required serious medical attention.
“The likelihood of a Florida resident being seriously injured during an unprovoked alligator incident in Florida is approximately only one in 3.1 million,” the commission said. From 1948 to 2021, only 26 people were killed by alligator bites in Florida, the commission added.
Current news
Victoria Albert
Victoria Albert is a senior news editor at CBS News. Contact her at victoria.albert@viacomcbs.com
Add Comment