An 80-year-old woman was killed by two alligators after falling into a pond near her home in Englewood, Florida, Friday night, authorities said.
Deadly alligator attacks are rare in the United States, typically occurring about once a year, but the last was at least the third in the United States since May. The body of a man who had been retrieving flying saucers from a lake in Largo, Florida, was found on May 31. And in June, a man was killed after being dragged into a holding pond by an alligator in Myrtle Beach, SC.
In the latest attack, the woman struggled to stay afloat after falling into the Boca Royale Golf and Country Club community pond and was then captured by two alligators, the Sheriff’s Office said. Sarasota County. Sunday could not immediately contact the club officials.
The victim, who was not publicly identified, was pronounced dead at the scene. The Sarasota County Forensic Office has not determined the official cause of death, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission sent a hired hunter who pulled two alligators out of the pond and slaughtered them, said Adam Brown, a spokesman for the commission. One alligator was 8 feet 10 inches long and the other was 7 feet 7 inches long.
Alligators live all over Florida and survive in fresh, brackish, and saltwater, according to the commission, which estimates the state has more than a million large reptiles.
Alligators are “more visible and active” during the warmer months when their metabolism increases and they look for food, Brown said. But people rarely bite and fatalities are rare. The probability of a Florida resident being seriously injured is about one in 3.1 million, the commission said.
Last year, nine people in Florida were bitten by alligators in unprovoked attacks, according to commission records.
The risk of a fatal alligator attack is low compared to the likelihood of other accidental deaths in the state, according to a 2019 University of Florida analysis.
“Alligators are opportunistic feeders and will eat animals that are readily available to them,” the commission reported. “They prefer to go after shots that they can easily beat.”