An 85-year-old dog walker was killed by a 10-foot alligator in Florida.
The woman was attacked Monday afternoon along a canal near Fort Pierce Floridathe Atlantic coast.
The alligator targeted the dog, which survived the attack, but its condition is unknown.
Details about the woman, who was walking in a retirement community, have not been released.
A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC) trapper later tracked the alligator before it was hauled away.
Photo: Google Street View
The retirement community, called Spanish Lakes Fairway, is approximately 70 miles north of West Palm Beach.
According to the FFWCC, 26 people were killed in unprovoked attacks between 1948 and 2021, with a total of 442 injured by alligator bites.
Still, the chances of a person in Florida being injured after an unprovoked alligator attack is about one in 3.1 million, the commission said.
An alligator eating a softshell turtle in Palm Beach County, Florida. Photo files
In 2016, two-year-old Lane Graves was killed by an alligator while vacationing with his family at Walt Disney World, about 100 miles (161 km) from Fort Pierce. Hundreds of alligators have since been relocated from the area.
The estimated population of the reptile in Florida is over 1.3 million despite alligators once being on the endangered species list.
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November 2022: Paraglider pilot helps save a woman from the mercy of an alligator
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Wildlife officials have warned people to be careful around bodies of water and have urged people not to feed the alligators.
“Although alligators can move quickly on land, they are not well adapted to catching prey out of the water. However, they can pounce on prey within meters of shore,” the commission said.
