The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was called to a pond located in Pinellas County after a woman was bitten by a gator while walking her dog.
Nearly 8-foot alligator attacks Florida woman as she walks dog https://t.co/ophdL0m9bJ pic.twitter.com/7OE9Rj6StB
— New York Post (@nypost) June 9, 2021
The 43-year-old woman was walking near the shoreline of the pond when the reptile lunged out of the water and went straight for her pet.
“You know as an adult walking by the water, you’re not seen as bait. But anybody walking a small dog or even a midsize dog like that, you’re waiting for trouble,” a local told FOX 13 News.
The woman was able to pull her pet away from the gator’s mouth, but in the process, she slipped and fell to the ground. The aggressive alligator then bit her lower leg, seriously injuring her.
Alligator attacks woman walking dog in Palm Harbor https://t.co/Sn64LhyKzA #10news #news #wtsp pic.twitter.com/CcJhZhMOzc
— Brandon Thompson (@brandonpromo) June 9, 2021
She was taken to a nearby hospital where she was treated for her injuries and a trapper was immediately called to remove the gator. At this point, the reptile had become a nuisance animal, and that means it will not be relocated.
“When I rolled up here and I walked up that alligator went right towards all of the police officers so it’s really obvious somebody was feeding that alligator and that’s not cool and that’s why the lady got bit today,” the trapper told FOX 13 News.
The trapper pulled the reptile out of the water and carried it to the back of a truck where it will be taken off to be euthanized. Unfortunately, due to someone feeding the gator and teaching it to come up to the shore and not be afraid of humans, the law is to euthanize it so it will not happen again to another human in the future.