At the mouth of Tiger Creek in Lake Kissimmee, Cynthia Diekema from Davenport and her husband accidentally paddled their canoe over an alligator in shallow water. The husband told officials the incident caused the animal to thrash, tipping them into the water.
Maj. Evan Laskowski with the Southwest Region of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the 61-year-old woman fell onto the alligator and was bitten. Laskowski said this was not a predatory move but “simply … a defensive incident, where they came upon the alligator beneath the water's edge, and when the canoe struck it, it caused a reaction.”
The husband told officials he tried to intervene, but was unsuccessful. Two alligators have been captured that match the description of the animal in the attack. Both were over 10 feet long. According to the FWC, female alligators “rarely exceed 10 feet in length, but males can grow much larger.”
The agency advises people to keep safe a distance from alligators and report any concerns to the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Hotline, or SNAP. Through SNAP, over 15,000 alligators have been removed from the wild in the past year.
The program uses trappers who have contracts to remove nuisance alligators. The FWC explains that “an alligator may be considered a nuisance if it's at least 4 feet in length and believed to pose a threat to people, pets or property.”
FWC spokesman Bradley Johnson advises residents and visitors to “make sure you keep a safe distance if you see an alligator, keep pets on a leash and away from the water's edge, swim only in designated swimming areas and never feed an alligator.”
Alligators are more visible during this time because of mating season. It’s a season of heightened activity for the animals, but their aggression during mating season is toward other alligators, not humans.
Col. Roger Young, the agency’s director for the Division of Law Enforcement,, said that, while it is mating season, the public is not in danger because of increased alligator activity
“We always encourage the public to keep their distance from wildlife,” Young said. “This is obviously one of those situations where during this time alligators are active. We would strongly encourage the public to keep their distance from alligators.”
Along with alligator mating season, the warmer weather typically has more people outside in bodies of water.
“We encourage people to get out and enjoy our wildlife and enjoy our wilderness areas, but always do that with a layer of caution about your surroundings,” Young said. “Be aware of where you are. Be aware of the wildlife that's in the area.”
