An 85-year-old woman was killed by an alligator while she was walking her dog in Florida

An 85-year-old woman was walking her dog in the St. Lucie County community of Spanish Lakes Fairways, Florida (about twenty minutes north of downtown West Palm Beach). Wildlife Commission (FWC).

The woman, whose identity is unknown, lived in an elderly community with canals and lakes. Daily, the victim went out to walk his dog. Unfortunately, on that fateful day, a crocodile appeared and came out of the channel next to the channel where the woman was walking her dog and tried to eat the pet. According to neighbors, the woman tried to save her dog, but it was attacked by the reptile.

“Caimans are often seen here. We know they’re dangerous because we have a lot of respect for them, but we never thought something like this would happen,” the victim’s neighbor, Lydia Sorenson, told the local press.

St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara said the alligator, caught by a trap sent by the FWC, was nearly 11 feet (3.3 meters) long. Six officers had to participate in the rescue until the reptile was loaded into a truck and taken out of the neighborhood.

The dog survived the attack, but its owner died from its injuries.

Some of the videos posted on the networks show the complicated operation that the authorities have to do to ensure that no other neighbors are affected by the appearance of the crocodile in the neighborhood.

Although alligator attacks are rare, an average of eight unprovoked bites per year in Florida over the past decade have required medical attention, according to the FWC. From 1948 to 2021, there were 442 unprovoked bite incidents in Florida, resulting in 26 deaths.

Alligators are found in nearly all 67 Florida counties, although they are considered an endangered species and are therefore protected.

(with information from EFE)