Alligator attacks, kills woman canoeing with her husband on lake in Florida: “He tried to fight the gator off”

An alligator attacked and killed a woman who was canoeing with her husband on a central Florida lake Tuesday afternoon, authorities said, after her spouse tried unsuccessfuly to fight off the predator.

The attack occurred near the mouth of Tiger Creek into Lake Kissimmee, south of Orlando, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

In a news conference Wednesday, FWC Maj. Evan Laskowski said the woman, a 61-year-old from Davenport, Florida, was sitting in the bow of a 14-foot canoe when the attack happened. She and her husband were in about two-and-a-half feet of water when the boat passed over a large alligator.

“The alligator thrashed and tipped the canoe over. Both individuals ended up in the water,” Laskowski said. “She ended up on top of the alligator in the water and was bitten. Her husband attempted to intervene but was unsuccessful.”

The woman was later recovered from the water and declared dead.

Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies and marine units assisted with the search. A sheriff’s office radio transmission of the incident was obtained by CBS affiliate WKMG. 

“Gator grabbed her out of the canoe,” a sheriff’s deputy can be heard saying. “He tried to fight the gator off. We’re at the last place he saw her. He left the paddle here where he last saw her at.” 

Laskowski said nuisance alligator trappers were called to the scene Tuesday night, and they recovered two alligators. One was over 11 feet long “matching the length and description of the alligator involved in the incident,” he said, and the second alligator was approximately 10 to 11 feet long.

Officials did not say if either of the alligators would be euthanized.

Serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida, officials said. The FWC administers a Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP) to remove alligators believed to pose a threat to people, pets or property.

The FWC says people there and everywhere should heed this advice:

• Keep a safe distance if you see an alligator.
• Keep pets on a leash and away from the water’s edge. Pets often resemble alligators’ natural prey. 
• Swim only in designated swimming areas during daylight hours and without your pet. Alligators are most active between dusk and dawn. 
• Never feed an alligator. It’s illegal and dangerous. When fed, alligators can lose their natural wariness and instead learn to associate people with the availability of food. This can lead to an alligator becoming a nuisance and needing to be removed from the wild.