An alligator killed a woman after dragging her from her canoe while she paddled on a popular fishing lake in Florida.
The woman had been near the mouth of Tiger Creek into Lake Kissimmee, south of Orlando, when she was attacked just after 4pm on Tuesday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said.
The woman went into the water and wasn’t seen again until her body was recovered nearby, FWC added.
The woman had been with another person at the time of the attack, sheriff’s officials said.
The emergency response included Fish and Wildlife Conservation officers and Polk County sheriff’s deputies.
The sheriff’s office said in a separate statement that the woman was in a kayak, distinguished by an enclosed hull, with another person who wasn’t reported injured.
But a commission spokesperson said the agency believes it was a canoe — also a paddle-powered vessel, but one with an open hull.
Investigators did not release any details about the attack or the alligator.
A contracted nuisance alligator trapper has been dispatched to the area.
An alligator killed a woman after dragging her from her canoe while she paddled on a popular fishing lake in Florida. Pictured: Authorities investigating the attack
The woman had been near the mouth of Tiger Creek into Lake Kissimmee, south of Orlando, when she was attacked just after 4pm on Tuesday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said. Pictured: Stock image of Lake Kissimmee
Investigators did not release any details about the attack or the alligator. A contracted nuisance alligator trapper has been dispatched to the area (stock image)
FWC administers a nuisance alligator programme to remove creatures believed to pose a threat to people, pets or property.
Lake Kissimmee State Park offers visitors the opportunity to ‘explore the 35,000 acres of Lake Kissimmee and the neighboring lakes and creeks on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes’, the Florida State Parks website says.
It adds: ‘Boating activities include wildlife viewing, sightseeing, bass fishing and pan fishing on some of Florida’s most pristine waterways.’
Serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida, officials said.
But the horror comes after a string of recent alligator attacks in the state.
Last year an 84-year-old South Florida woman was hospitalized with brutal injuries after she and her pet were attacked by a seven-foot-long alligator.
Del Boppel and her dog Queen were out on a walk near a pond located close her Julia Mobile Home Park home at around 7pm on September when she spotted the predator.
‘All of a sudden, I had a premonition, I’m telling you. It was like, ‘uh-uh’, Boppel said from her hospital bed.
Seconds later, as the 7’3′ alligator bit Boppel on her right leg, she threw Queen in the air and punched the animal in its face.
‘It was like a torpedo. I didn’t see anything go that fast in my life. I didn’t have time to think,’ Boppel said.
The gator managed to take a chunk of her leg and fingers before scurrying away – leaving her with ‘significant’ injuries to her arms and a wrist.
Horrifying bodycam footage shows bloated 14ft alligator with mom in its body
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and Lee County Emergency Medical Services also responded to a 911 call made by a neighbor.
According to NBC News, a nuisance alligator trapper later found the animal and ‘humanely euthanized’ the predator.
Meanwhile earlier the same year another Florida woman’ leg was savaged by an eight feet alligator as she swam in a river.
Rachel Thompson was going through her daily morning routine of yoga and jogging when she went down to the Hillsborough River near her Temple Terrace home.
And in June 2024 horrifying bodycam footage showed a bloated 14ft alligator with the body of a 41-year-old mother in its stomach.
Sabrina Peckham was eaten by the alligator after being dragged by the beast into a canal in Clearwater.
Peckham was unhoused at the time and had been staying at an encampment close to where the alligator was located and killed.
Footage from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission showed the aftermath of the deadly attack.
Video shows the huge gator surrounded by police moments after it was shot to death. Its stomach is visibly swollen with Peckham inside. (Mail Online)