{"id":394371,"date":"2026-09-09T03:28:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T03:28:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/394371\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T03:28:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T03:28:22","slug":"child-survives-frightening-alligator-attack-after-venturing-into-restricted-florida-waters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/394371\/","title":{"rendered":"Child survives frightening alligator attack after venturing into restricted Florida waters"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE TAKEAWAY<\/p>\n

A child was attacked by an alligator while swimming in a preserve in Florida.<\/p>\n

The Weeki Wachee Preserve, where the attack occurred, is off-limits for swimming.<\/p>\n

The alligator is about 9 to 12 feet long.<\/p>\n

HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. \u2013 A horrifying scene unfolded in Florida<\/a> where a child was attacked by an alligator<\/a> while swimming in a preserve on Labor Day.<\/p>\n

According to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, officers were notified of a child who was bitten by an alligator while swimming in the Weeki Wachee Preserve.<\/p>\n

Officials note that the incident resulted from a swimming violation, as the preserve is off-limits for swimming.<\/p>\n

Watch: Massive Alligator Munches On Smaller Alligator In Florida Wildlife Park<\/a><\/p>\n

The alligator was able to puncture the arm and leg of the victim, but was not considered to be life-threatening and the child was transported to a hospital in Hudson<\/a>, Florida.<\/p>\n

\"Florida,<\/p>\n

Florida, Naples, warning sign, no fishing, swimming, beware of alligators.<\/p>\n

The victim, along with other children, sought refuge on an isolated sandbar before being saved by the Hernando County Fire Rescue squad.<\/p>\n

Officials estimate the alligator is about 9 to 12 feet long.<\/p>\n

Louisiana Is Expanding Its Recreational Gator Hunt \u2014 With 10,000 Alligators In The Crosshairs<\/a><\/p>\n

Afterward, a licensed Florida wildlife<\/a> trapper set up traps to capture the alligator.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A family in East Texas was relieved when first responders captured an alligator making itself at home in their backyard pool.<\/p>\n

Officials warn the public to use extreme caution around waterways and follow the restrictions in place to avoid incidents like this.<\/p>\n

According to the Northern Palm Beach County Improvement District, the chances of being attacked by an alligator are about 1 in 24 million.<\/p>\n

Watch: Horde Of Hungry Spinner Sharks Rips Through Massive Bait Ball Off New York Coast<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Swimming<\/p>\n

American Alligator pictured at Everglades National Park, Florida.<\/p>\n

Officials said 90% of attacks occur while people are wading or swimming at the water’s edge, where alligators can lunge at prey.<\/p>\n

This Tiny Fish Has A Bite Stronger Than A Great White Shark<\/a><\/p>\n

During the mating season, May through September, male alligators are more aggressive, and females are protective of nests.<\/p>\n

Original article source: Child survives frightening alligator attack after venturing into restricted Florida waters<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE TAKEAWAY A child was attacked by an alligator while swimming in a preserve in Florida. The Weeki…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394372,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7863,133695,28,30,29,157325],"class_list":["post-394371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-alligator","tag-alligator-attack","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-weeki-wachee-preserve"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394371","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=394371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}