A 31-year-old woman died after being attacked by an alligator while cooling off in the Econlockhatchee River near Orlando, Florida, on Sunday. The reptile clamped its jaws around both of her arms, ripping one off and severely damaging the other, in front of her horrified boyfriend.
Attack Details
The woman was hiking with her partner and a best friend when they stopped at the river, which was about three feet deep. They were kneeling in the shallow waters at around 1:30 p.m. when the alligator struck, according to Lieutenant Grant Eller of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The boyfriend tried to pry the woman's arms from the alligator's mouth while calling emergency services.
In a recording of the 911 call obtained by NBC News, the boyfriend can be heard screaming and crying. Another woman on the scene told the dispatcher: “Ok, both her arms, both her arms, both her arms are off, like, basically.” When asked if her arms were still attached, she replied: “One of them is, like, very hanging on [by a] thread, and the other was off.” She added that the missing arm was simply “gone.”
Rescue and Aftermath
The woman’s partner and friend carried her and tried to flag down rescuers. Lieutenant Eller said the woman, a resident of Orlando, died before reaching the hospital. Authorities have not released her name, as they are still contacting her family, who live outside Florida.
Seminole County sheriff’s deputies, with the help of a professional trapper, “harvested” two alligators near the attack site. Both reptiles were large—13 feet and 12 feet long respectively. DNA samples from both have been sent for lab analysis to identify the attacker.
Context of Attacks
This fatal attack is one of several recent incidents in central Florida. Alligators become more territorial after mating season, which occurs in late spring and early summer. Lieutenant Eller noted that the group was in shallow water when the attack happened, emphasizing the need for caution in areas with alligators.
