Reptile attack in Florida: Alligator kills 85-year-old while walking

When an 85-year-old woman was walking her dog in Florida, an alligator pounced on her.

Reptile attack in Florida: Alligator kills 85-year-old while walking

When an 85-year-old woman was walking her dog in Florida, an alligator pounced on her. A neighbor rushes to the woman's help - she tries to prevent the worst with a pole. In vain. The victim dies from her injuries.

An 85-year-old woman was killed by an alligator while walking her dog in Florida. A neighbor from the town of Fort Pierce told WPFBF television that the woman was dragged into a lake by the three-meter-long reptile before her eyes. "She showed up and I said to her 'swim to the paddle boat' but she said 'I can't, the alligator is holding me,'" said a neighbor named Carol.

She called emergency services and grabbed a pole to hit the reptile or pull her friend out of the water, "but she wasn't there." According to the nature conservation authority FWC, the 85-year-old succumbed to her injuries, but her dog survived the attack.

The alligator was tracked down after the attack by a local police helicopter and caught by specialists, WPBF further reported. Alligators are common in Florida. The probability of being seriously injured by one of the reptiles is still only one in 3.1 million, according to the conservation authority. Between 1948 and 2021, only 26 alligator attacks were fatal.