![\"Kayakers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TOS-L-SilverRiver12906.jpg\")
Kayakers enjoy the waters of the Silver River at Ray Wayside Park in Silver Springs on Tuesday afternoon, August 11, 2026. (Stephen M. Dowell\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\nA woman swimming in a Central Florida river last weekend lost her arm to an alligator bite, the fourth\u00a0local attack by one of the large reptiles this summer.<\/p>\n
Blame unusually dry conditions and summer heat that makes people eager to be on, and sometimes in, the lakes, rivers and springs where alligators live, experts say. That\u2019s made alligator attacks, while still very rare, more likely.<\/p>\n
Dina Spann, 58, was swimming in Silver River in Marion County on Aug. 8 when she was bitten on the arm by a nearly 10-foot alligator, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Nearby boaters rushed to help her, tying a makeshift tourniquet around her wounds before bringing her to shore.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is currently in the hospital recovering and, thankfully, she is okay,\u201d Spann\u2019s family members wrote Tuesday on Facebook. \u201cShe did lose her arm as a result of the attack, but she is stable and being well cared for. Right now, she is asking for privacy and rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alligator aggression during mating season and low water levels this year could be contributing to more frequent human-gator interactions, said Bobby Fokidis, a biology professor at Rollins College.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe weather might be driving them particularly to seek out new areas where people somewhat feel comfortable to swim,\u201d he said, adding that swimming in such places is rarely a good idea.<\/p>\n
High temperatures and below average rainfall have led to drought conditions in some parts of Central Florida, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System. It\u2019s depleted swamps, rivers and springs, which pushes more alligators into cramped spaces and makes water murkier, helping them blend in, Fokidis said.<\/p>\n
He urged people to stay in marked swimming areas where recreation is allowed and the water is clear.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the important thing is we don\u2019t blame alligators for this,\u201d he said. \u201cAlligators are usually responding to changes in their environment, and if a large primate walks into the water and starts swimming around, it\u2019s going to respond to that, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
During the most recent attack, John Gamache, who was on a nearby boat, told FOX35 he saw the alligator dart straight toward swimmers on Silver River. He sped over, a commotion that helped scare the reptile away, and then used a rope to tie off Spann\u2019s injury while she hung on to a paddleboard, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a terrible injury, bones poking out, blood everywhere. Obviously, the minutes mattered,\u201d Gamache told the station.<\/p>\n
A professional trapper found and removed the suspected reptile the next day, FWC said, but the agency declined to specify whether it was relocated or euthanized, only saying it was \u201cdispatched on site.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officials at Silver Springs State Park, which encompasses Silver River, didn\u2019t respond to requests for comment. The park doesn\u2019t permit swimming, but says on its website that kayaking, canoeing and boating are \u201calternatives guests can enjoy in order to experience our beautiful waters first hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayakers enjoy the waters of the Silver River at Ray Wayside Park in Silver Springs on Tuesday afternoon, August 11, 2026. (Stephen M. Dowell\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n
Within the span of a week in June, three separate alligator attacks injured two people and killed an Orlando woman.<\/p>\n
A 19-year-old snorkeler in Rainbow River near Dunnellon was bitten on the head and neck<\/a>, though he was released from the hospital soon after.<\/p>\n Then, an 11-year-old boy was attacked while fishing<\/a> from the shore at Nelson Fish Camp in Marion. As he released his catch into the water, a nearly 9-foot alligator clamped down on his lower arm. The boy\u2019s father tackled the reptile and tried to pry its jaws open, but it began to roll, breaking the boy\u2019s arm, before he was freed, the boy\u2019s uncle said. The boy, on vacation from Pennsylvania, had two surgeries and his hand was amputated.<\/p>\n The next day, 31-year-old Brittany Clark lost her life<\/a> after an attack in the Econlockhatchee River in Seminole County. Clark was hiking with her boyfriend and a friend in the Little Big Econ State Forest when they decided to cool off in the river, which was only about 3 feet deep \u2014 unusually shallow, officials said.<\/p>\n