Last Friday May 1st, a woman was attacked and killed by an alligator on Kiawah Island, South Carolina.
About 5p today, deputies responded to pond near Salt Cedar Ln, Kiawah Island, for report of alligator encounter w/ a woman. The woman has died. A deputy fatally shot and retrieved the gator. @SCDNR & coroner also responded. Incident is still under investigation. #chsnews
— Charleston County Sheriff’s Office (@ChasCoSheriff) May 1, 2020
Deputies responded to a report of an alligator encounter with a woman. After a deputy shot and retrieved the alligator, authorities were able to identify the victim as 58-year-old, Cynthia Covert. It is still unclear at this time what the woman and the alligator were doing prior to the attack, but the incident is still under investigation.
The mayor of the island, Craig Weaver, expressed his condolences and released a statement to CNN saying,
“We live closely with nature on this island. An alligator caused death is exceedingly rare and has not happened on our island before to my knowledge. We know that we must act responsibly and with care around these animals. Consequently, it will be important to know and to share with the community the facts and circumstances from this tragedy, so we can avoid experiencing anything like this again.”
Message from Mayor Weaver – Alligator Incident https://t.co/n3gztar6dH
— Town of Kiawah Island (@TownofKiawahSC) May 3, 2020
While alligator attacks are rare, death as a result of an attack is even more uncommon. Generally alligators won’t attack unless provoked, and attacks will consist of one bite followed by a quick retreat. Nevertheless, alligator bites are serious injuries due to the reptile’s sheer bite force and risk of infection. Because of this, any encounter with an alligator should be taken seriously and extreme precaution should be used.
For more information about the island, check out the video below.