A 71-year-old woman miraculously survived after being attacked by a 10-foot-long alligator inside a gated community in southwest Florida — the third gator attack in the area in as many days, authorities said.
The woman — who had injuries to her arms and legs — was attacked at about 6 p.m. Sunday in the 1800 block of Cypress Haven Drive in the Shadow Wood Preserve gated development in Fort Myers, the News-Press reported.
“We arrived to find a female patient, age 71, with injuries to her extremities from an alligator bite,” a spokeswoman for the San Carlos Park Fire Protection and Rescue Service District told the newspaper. “She was transported as a trauma alert by Lee Flight.”
An animal trapper was called to the gated community on 440 acres between the Estero Bay Nature Preserve and Mullock Creek and captured the 10-foot, 5-inch alligator, which will be killed, according to Brian Norris, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer. The victim was still recovering from her injuries Monday.
The attack is the third in southwest Florida in as many days, a “very rare” string of attacks, Norris told NBC2.
The victim was flown to a hospital with injuries to her arms and legs after Sunday’s attack.San Carlos Park Fire Protection & Rescue Service District“Instances like this are very rare,” Norris said. “It is odd that there have been so many in a short period of time.”
The three attacks could be connected to female alligators laying their eggs during summer or possibly by people feeding the large reptiles — causing them to be more comfortable with humans and ultimately associate them with food, Norris said.
On Friday, two gator attacks were reported in Florida, including one that injured a 10-year-old boy who was bitten in the leg in the Peace River in Arcadia. In the second attack, a 51-year-old man was bitten in the arm while diving for golf balls in Rotonda West in Charlotte County. He remains hospitalized, WINK reports.
