Authorities in St. Petersburg say a woman in her 50s was attacked by an alligator after falling into an area canal on Monday.
According to a release from the St. Petersburg Fire Rescue, the unidentified homeless woman was resting along the seawall near Bartlett Park when she fell into the canal and disturbed the alligator. Someone heard her cries for help and called 911.
The woman was taken to Bayfront Health with severe injuries to her arms. She is reported to be in stable condition. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have yet to locate the alligator.
The FWC reported a total of 12 incidents where an alligator bit a person in Florida last year. Eight of those resulted in major injuries, though none of them were fatal.
The woman is the second Floridian to suffer an alligator attack after falling into a body of water in recent months. A 74-year-old Palm City man fell off his bike and into the water while cycling in Martin County in July, startling a nearby alligator. That man was ultimately saved due to the quick thinking of a Good Samaritan, who fashioned a tourniquet from his dog’s leash and staunched the man’s bleeding.
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This article appears in Sep 29 – Oct 5, 2021.