An 85-year-old woman was killed by an 11-foot alligator that dragged her into a pond while she was protecting her dog during a walk in a Florida retirement community.
Attack at Spanish Lakes Fairways
Gloria Serge was taking her Shih Tzu, Trooper, for a lunchtime stroll in February 2023 at Spanish Lakes Fairways when the alligator burst from a pond, grabbed her ankle, and pulled her underwater. Her dog escaped unharmed.
Neighbor Carol Thomas witnessed the attack. She recalled: "I heard something and I looked and Gloria was down, the dog was running up the hill and I saw the alligator come out and grab her leg."
Thomas grabbed a metal pole and tried to help, but Serge never resurfaced. "She came up for air, and she pushed her hair back you know, out of her eyes and her arm was out and I said Gloria swim toward the paddle boat! We have one overturned in the lake 'cause I figured if she could get there I could shove it out, she could grab it. She said I can't. The gator has me!"
Aftermath and Grief
Thomas said: "There's nothing you can do. Just kind of haunted by that, you know, I don't know what else I could've done."
Gloria's son said at a press conference: "I never could have imagined the agonizing way that my mother spent the last moments of her life. The sudden, violent nature of this attack, thinking about my mom in her final moments, resulted in a whole different level of all-consuming grief."
Wildlife Warning
Amy Kight, Executive Director of Busch Wildlife Sanctuary, advised: "Do not feed them, do not mess with them, do not try to befriend them. Let them live their life, you do yours and you shouldn't run into any problems." She urged people to stay at least 15 to 20 feet away from any alligator.
The 435-acre complex is home to wild alligators. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said responsibility for vigilance lies with residents, and the alligator responsible was captured and euthanized.
