13 Feet Alligator With Human Remains On Mouth Euthanized In Florida

A 13-foot alligator that had human remains in its mouth was put to death by authorities after it was discovered in a Florida canal on Friday.

The Pinellas county sheriff's office said in an interview that the alligator was male and was "humanely" killed after being removed from the water.

Additionally, the remains of an adult have been found.

(Photo : Getty Images/Bruce Bennett)

Alligator sighting

On Friday afternoon, Jamarcus Bullard claimed to have seen an alligator and a body in the water on 134th Avenue.

"I threw a rock at the gator just to see if it was really a gator and like it pulled the body, like it was holding on to the lower part of the torso, and pulled it under the water," he said in an interview.

The victim was publicly identified on Saturday as 41-year-old Sabrina Peckham.

Investigations are being done on the death's cause and the manner of how she died. 

It is still unknown by authorities whether the alligator killed Peckham.

Nevertheless, some Floridians are uneasy after recent alleged alligator attacks on people.

In Fort Pierce, Florida, an alligator killed an 85-year-old woman in February as she attempted to save her dog.

Two weeks later, a guy opened his front door to a gator and avoided being bitten.

However, data showed that alligator attacks that turn deadly is rare. The US reports on an average of six fatal alligator attacks every year.

Alligators typically attack people when they feel frightened or provoked, which can happen when people intrude on their space or try to feed them.

"When you go to the water's edge you are in much more danger of drowning than you are of being bitten by an alligator," said Frank Mazzotti, a professor of Wildlife Ecology at the University of Florida.

Attacks by alligators can be quite deadly because the creatures' strong jaws and cutting teeth can result in severe injuries or even death.

Read Also: 88-Year-Old Woman Mauled to Death by Massive Alligator in South Carolina

Florida law on alligators

Florida is home to more than 1 million alligators.

There have been eight unprovoked alligator bites on the state on individuals that have required medical attention annually on average over the past ten years.

To kill or hurt an alligator in Florida is a third-degree felony.

Except for those who obtain a special alligator trapping or farming license from the state, it is also illegal to capture and keep an alligator or its egg.

There are a few exceptional situations in which someone may use self-defense against alligators, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

According to experts, you can defend yourself if an alligator attacks you or your pet, but it gets more challenging to do so if the incident takes place outside of your land.

The FWC does not want anyone to randomly shoot and kill alligators while claiming to be acting in self-defense.

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