{"id":324230,"date":"2026-06-30T03:36:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T03:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/324230\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T03:36:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T03:36:17","slug":"alligators-injure-three-one-fatally-in-string-of-attacks-in-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/324230\/","title":{"rendered":"Alligators injure three, one fatally, in string of attacks in Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"

Multiple people have been attacked by alligators across central Florida in the last week, with the most recent attack killing a 31-year-old woman.<\/p>\n

Serious encounters with alligators remain relatively rare, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission data, but there have been three attacks in the last seven days. Two came with 24 hours of each other, according to CNN affiliate WESH.<\/p>\n

The victim in the latest attack had stopped to swim with her boyfriend and friend in the Econlockhatchee River just north of Orlando Sunday afternoon when the alligator bit her, the FWC said in a press briefing.<\/p>\n

Her boyfriend tried to get her out of the alligator\u2019s mouth, officials said.<\/p>\n

The 911 caller described the woman\u2019s injuries as \u201chorrible.\u201d She suffered bites to both arms and later died after being transported to a hospital.<\/p>\n

Officials with the FWC captured a 13-foot alligator at the scene and a 12-footer nearby, saying either could have been responsible for the attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen really big gators in here. I\u2019ve never heard of an attack, though,\u201d Leia Vieira, a hiker, told WESH<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Twenty-four hours earlier, a boy, who was fishing with his father, was bitten on the hand at Nelson\u2019s Fish Camp in Marion County, WESH<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n

A snorkeler<\/a> was bitten on June 21 at Rainbow River in the same area \u2014 about 100 miles away from Sunday\u2019s fatal attack in Seminole County.<\/p>\n

Authorities temporarily closed the river following the first attack before wildlife officials located and removed the alligator, according to the Marion County<\/a> Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

Officials captured and euthanized the 8-foot-7-inch gator that bit the young boy, according to WESH.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The entrance to Barr Street Trailhead was closed after a woman from Orlando was attacked by an alligator at Little Big Econ State Forest. – WESH<\/p>\n

How common are alligator bites?<\/p>\n

Though Florida is home to an estimated 1.3 million gators, attacks on people are uncommon.<\/p>\n

The state averages about eight unprovoked bites each year, according to the FWC,<\/a> which runs a statewide program to address complaints concerning specific alligators believed to pose a threat to people, pets or property.<\/p>\n

Since 1948, Florida has recorded more than 450 alligator attacks, with only 30 resulting in fatalities.<\/p>\n

Last year, the state recorded<\/a> 13 alligator attacks, including two fatalities. Eight of the attacks caused major injuries, while five resulted in minor injuries.<\/p>\n

A study<\/a> by researchers at the University of Florida and Centre College in Kentucky found that low-risk activities, such as walking near the water or remaining on land, rarely resulted in attacks.<\/p>\n

The highest number of fatal attacks, the study found, occurred after high-risk behaviors, including deliberately entering waterways known to contain alligators.<\/p>\n

\u201cSituational awareness and informed choices, especially during recreational activities in alligator country, can help protect both people and wildlife,\u201d Dr. Frank Mazzotti, a professor of wildlife ecology at the University of Floridaand one of the study\u2019s authors, said when the findings were published last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany bites,\u201d Mazzotti said, \u201ccan be prevented if humans are aware of their surroundings and minimize risky behaviors.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Multiple people have been attacked by alligators across central Florida in the last week, with the most recent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324231,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7863,102149,28,8659,30,29,4747,918],"class_list":["post-324230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-alligator","tag-alligator-attacks","tag-florida","tag-florida-fish-and-wildlife","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-fwc","tag-wesh"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}