FORT PIERCE (CBS)
A 10-foot alligator killed an 85-year-old woman in Fort Pierce, wildlife officials said Monday. The woman was walking her dog at the Spanish Lakes Fairways retirement community at the time of the attack, officials said.
Neighbors told CBS News that the alligator suddenly emerged from the water and dragged the woman.
“The victim was located and the gator involved in the incident was captured by the gator who was hired to handle the gator,” the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission said in a statement.
Video and photos show the large gator being wrestled at times by at least six people before being loaded into the back of a pickup truck.
St. LUCIE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Neighbors told CBS affiliate WPEC-TV that alligators are not uncommon in the area, but they had never witnessed an attack like Monday’s.
It was not possible to identify the victim immediately.
The woman’s dog survived the attack, according to the FWC.
Several roads in the area were closed while police and the FWC investigated the attack. The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office provided FWC with air support while the wildlife commission searched for the gator, WPEC reported.
The FWC said alligators don’t usually attack people, and that killed by alligator attacks are rare. Over the past 10 years, Florida has averaged eight unprovoked alligator bites requiring medical attention each year, the commission said.
The report was made by Lilia Luciana.
