8-Foot Alligator Euthanized Following Attack on Elderly Woman in Florida

An elderly woman, 77 years old, has been taken to the hospital after an attack by a near 8-foot alligator in a Florida neighborhood. The alligator has been euthanized by the authorities for being a nuisance.

The reptile which had been lingering in a pond by Ellsworth Avenue bit the Bradenton woman, who was taken urgently to the hospital. This happened on September 3. After hearing the woman's screams, a neighbor ran outside to offer assistance.

There are 1.3 million alligators in Florida. They are common in all 67 counties of the state and hide out in wetlands and ponds most of the time.

Around 6 PM, wildlife officials showed up to begin an investigation. The details of the elderly woman's injuries or condition is not been defined.

Euthanized

After the incident, a neighbor who had rushed outside to assist noticed the alligator on the sidewalk, according to Craig Madsen, Chief of the East Manatee Fire District Battalion. Madsen is part of the team that responded to the incident.

The alligator released the victim after the victim's neighbor began yelling at it, according to Madsen, and then made its way back into the water.

The alligator remained in one location once it was back in the pond.

Madsen claimed that the officers were fixed in his vision.

While they looked into the matter, the officers were prepared with a weapon.

An authorized nuisance alligator trapper put down the 7-foot, 10-inch long alligator by euthanizing it.

Shortly after, the reptile was found lying lifeless. Its mouth was still bloody when it died.

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

Pitfalls of Feeding Wild Animals

Madsen said it appeared that people habitually fed the alligator.

He explained that The trapper had a bag of marshmallows with him when he arrived at the scene, and he threw a few of them into the pond. The alligator swam right over to one of the marshmallows when it fell into the water and began devouring it. This gator appeared to have been fed, which is not something we advise because it might lead to situations like these.

Gordon Silver, a wildlife videographer and photographer, was present when the incident happened.

Silver claimed to be somewhat shocked. He has been a resident of the area for five years and has never witnessed a gator attack a human in that way. Silver added that even whenever they are on a path, crossing from pond to pond, alligators typically move in the opposite direction. When they spot a person, they flee. Every pond that people encounter-which could be a tiny puddle-might contain an alligator. People only need to be conscious.

Nuisance Alligators

An alligator in Florida is classified as a nuisance if it exhibits threatening behavior, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). If an alligator is at least 4 feet long and deemed to be a threat to people, animals, or property, it may be deemed a nuisance.

Because they frequently return to the area where they were captured or where they have attacked, nuisance alligators are usually killed rather than relocated.

Unless provoked, alligators usually do not people. Alligators that are fed by people, however, become accustomed to them and become more brazen and likely to attack as a result, Newsweek reports.

Related article: Florida Man Loses Arm in His Second Alligator Attack in a Decade