Alligator attacks, kills woman canoeing with her husband on lake in Florida

[FloridaJohn]

Saw this news story today:

Alligator attacks, kills woman canoeing with her husband on lake in Florida: "He tried to fight the gator off"

An alligator attacked and killed a woman who was canoeing with her husband on a central Florida lake Tuesday afternoon, authorities said, after her spouse tried unsuccessfuly to fight off the predator.

The attack occurred near the mouth of Tiger Creek into Lake Kissimmee, south of Orlando, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

At a news conference Wednesday, FWC Maj. Evan Laskowski said the woman, a 61-year-old from Davenport, Florida, was sitting in the bow of a 14-foot canoe when the attack happened. She and her husband were in about two-and-a-half feet of water when the boat passed over a large alligator, he said.

"The alligator thrashed and tipped the canoe over. Both individuals ended up in the water," Laskowski said. "She ended up on top of the alligator in the water and was bitten. Her husband attempted to intervene but was unsuccessful."

The woman was later recovered from the water and declared dead.

It is unusual for an attack like that.

It is the end of the dry season here, so the gators are packed into smaller areas competing for food. Once the summer rains start they will spread out a bit more. Plus I think this is mating season for gators, too.

 

[Erica]

The article states they were in shallow water and paddled over (presumably unintentionally) a 10 foot gator, which then thrashed capsizing the canoe.

In this case, the gator almost surely was startled awake and/or interpreted the canoe as an attack. Florida John is correct; it is mating season and the bull gators can be tetchy.

I was at an event at a lake in the Fakahatchee during the dry season. It was packed with gators. I mean really - as in standing room only. Early explorers to Florida described lakes so packed with gators you could have walked across the lake and not got your feet wet.

 

[ppine]

A sad story.
It is much more likely that people get killed by dogs, cattle or deer than alligators.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

In almost the same location, Tiger Creek (canal) and Lake Kissimmee, a woman kayaker was bitten on the arm by a gator in March:

'She's in pain, a lot of pain': 911 call details kayaker's brush with alligator in Lake Wales

A 911 call shows the panic and pain after a woman was bitten by an alligator, as first-responders took more than a half hour to get to the remote location.

www.floridatoday.com

April begins the breeding season for gators. According to the following list of the 20 most gator-infested waters in Florida, Lake Kissimmee is second:

Florida alligator mating season begins: Top 20 most gator-infested lakes in the state

An estimated 1.3M alligators can be found in Florida. In April, mating season begins. Here are safety tips to know, plus top 20 gator-infested lakes.

www.floridatoday.com

 

[Erica]

A sad story.
It is much more likely that people get killed by dogs, cattle or deer than alligators.

Agreed.

It’s just like wilderness canoeing. People who don’t do it think it is so dangerous when driving to the grocery store kills more people.

 

[FloridaJohn]

April begins the breeding season for gators. According to the following list of the 20 most gator-infested waters in Florida, Lake Kissimmee is second:

Florida alligator mating season begins: Top 20 most gator-infested lakes in the state

An estimated 1.3M alligators can be found in Florida. In April, mating season begins. Here are safety tips to know, plus top 20 gator-infested lakes.

www.floridatoday.com

That is a pretty good article about gators.

 

[ppine]

I remember renting a small power boat in the Everglades back in about 1971. We came back about dark and were amazed at 25 pairs of red eyes staring back at us. That was when gators numbers were really depressed. It was scary because we had no experience with alligators.

Knowledge is power. Learn about the critters you encounter so you know how to deal with them.
"A life well lived, involves some risk." Anonymous.

 

[Erica]

They are by far the creepiest animals I've ever seen. With their bumpy scaly skin, about a hundred bright shiny teeth protruding past their gums, and the most evil looking eyes ever! But alas, since there was so many of them the novelty wore off quickly. In fact we found ourselves getting quite complacent when one would show itself, until we had one swim under us and bump our canoe. That woke up the butterflies in our stomachs!

Bolding mine.

I would gather that getting bumped is not unusual if you paddle close by in shallow water.

(I am currently searching for more info on the Okeefenokee. I was there maybe 30 years ago. I’m thinking about starting in the NE part of the swamp and head SW and into the headwaters of the Suwannee River then down to White Springs and I came across this trip report by Mark.)

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Here's another alligator attack on paddlers in Florida, which resulted in the temporary closure of one of my top 10 lifetime paddling spots, Juniper Springs, which has a very active canoe rental concession. I recall about 15 years ago that a gator in Juniper Springs killed a swimmer or snorkeler right where Sweetwater Springs joins into Juniper. All of this is not far upstream from the St. Johns River chain, which has one of the biggest gator populations in Florida.

"A large alligator exhibiting aggressive behavior has prompted officials to temporarily close to paddlers one of Central Florida's most popular springs, the U.S. Forest Service announced.

"The closure affects the Juniper Springs waterway in the Ocala National Forest, about 300 miles north of Miami.

"A large alligator, between 13 and 14 feet in length, has "actively made contact with canoes and kayaks," the agency said in a Facebook post on Monday. Officials emphasized that no injuries have been reported but urged the public to avoid the area out of caution."

Massive alligator chasing kayakers forces closure of popular Florida springs, Forest Service says

A large alligator forced the closure of Juniper Springs waterway in Ocala weeks after a deadly attack elsewhere in Central Florida.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[Erica]

Here's another alligator attack on paddlers in Florida, which resulted in the temporary closure of one of my top 10 lifetime paddling spots, Juniper Springs, which has a very active canoe rental concession. I recall about 15 years ago that a gator in Juniper Springs killed a swimmer or snorkeler right where Sweetwater Springs joins into Juniper. All of this is not far upstream from the St. Johns River chain, which has one of the biggest gator populations in Florida.

"A large alligator exhibiting aggressive behavior has prompted officials to temporarily close to paddlers one of Central Florida's most popular springs, the U.S. Forest Service announced.

"The closure affects the Juniper Springs waterway in the Ocala National Forest, about 300 miles north of Miami.

"A large alligator, between 13 and 14 feet in length, has "actively made contact with canoes and kayaks," the agency said in a Facebook post on Monday. Officials emphasized that no injuries have been reported but urged the public to avoid the area out of caution."

Massive alligator chasing kayakers forces closure of popular Florida springs, Forest Service says

A large alligator forced the closure of Juniper Springs waterway in Ocala weeks after a deadly attack elsewhere in Central Florida.

www.cbsnews.com

When I paddled Juniper Springs, it was closed to any kind of swimming, snorkeling, or even getting out of your boat. It wasn't because of gators. They were trying to keep the spring water clean.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I recall about 15 years ago that a gator in Juniper Springs killed a swimmer or snorkeler right where Sweetwater Springs joins into Juniper.

When I paddled Juniper Springs, it was closed to any kind of swimming, snorkeling, or even getting out of your boat. It wasn't because of gators. They were trying to keep the spring water clean.

Here's a newspaper report from 2006 on killing of the snorkeler exactly where I remembered. I used to eddy out at the confluence of Sweetwater and Juniper Springs, and then paddle up Sweetwater to the rental cabin, which I explored. The next time I was there, the entrance to Sweetwater Springs was roped off, probably because of the snorkeler death.

Alligator kills woman

OCALA NATIONAL FOREST - A 23-year-old woman was attacked and killed by an alligator at about 5 p.m. on Sunday as she snorkeled in Juniper Creek near Sweetwater Springs. Wildlife officers said Annmari…

www.ocala.com

Here's a later newspaper report on the capture of the suspect alligator.

Trapper nabs gator that killed snorkeler

Wildlife officials in May confirmed that a captured 11-foot, 5-inch alligator was the reptile that killed a Tennessee woman as she snorkeled in a popular canoe run near Juniper Springs in the Ocala…

www.orlandosentinel.com

 

[Gamma1214]

"A large alligator, between 13 and 14 feet in length, has "actively made contact with canoes and kayaks,"

Pretty smart little lizard. Shake the vending machine and see if something tasty falls out. Unfortunately for him, that discovery is very likely to cost him dearly.