A 62-year-old woman is healing from her injuries after a massive alligator attacked her and dragged her into the woods in Florida.
The woman from Fort Myers was hiking on a remote trial with two other people at the Bird Rockery Swamp Trail in Naples on Sunday morning when the alligator attacked.
‘We were doing a wet walk, and the gator jumped out and grabbed her.’
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office said officers responded to a frantic call about the attack at about 9:40 a.m.
“Hello, we’re out here, and our friend just got attacked by an alligator,” the witness said.
The report said the trio had been hiking on a watery portion of the trail and did not notice the large alligator. It latched onto the woman’s leg, and one of the other hikers tried to help her as the alligator tried to drag her away.
Eventually she was freed but suffered serious injuries.
“We’re out of the water. We were doing a wet walk, and the gator jumped out and grabbed her,” the witness said on the emergency call.
The woman was airlifted to Gulf Coast Medical Center for treatment of the injuries on her leg and arm. Her condition was not released.
Florida Gulf Coast University assistant biology professor Christina Anaya told WFTX-TV that it is the time of the year that female alligators can be aggressive if they are disturbed.
“Mating season is between April and June, so this is about the time the hatchlings are out — and females protect them for well over a year,” Anaya said.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said that trappers removed an alligator from the area.
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Alligator attacks woman, 7-foot alligator, Florida wildlife attacks, Animals attack, Human interest
