A 43-year-old man was attackedby an alligatorand treated for a "serious injury in his arm" onJuly 20and a 34-year-old man was bit on his face during a swim in a Florida lake onAug. 4. 14 of those attacks occurred in Beaufort County according to SCDNR records. The victim, identified as Cynthia Covert, was dragged into a pond behind her friend's home on Kiawah Island, near Charleston, and said calmly, "I guess I won't do this again," as her friend tried to pull her away from the alligator. And you know, she's been alone. Texas Parks and Wildlifesays a safe distance away from an alligator is at least 30 feet, and while extremely rare for them to chase humans, they can run up to 35 mph for a short period of time. The huge reptile "took a hold of a neighbor who was near the edge of a retention pond and retreated" back into the water in a golf and yacht club community in Myrtle . A person walking their dog discovered his body along the shoreline the next morning, the police said. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. Moments before the attack, the womans friend warned her to not get closer to the alligator, according to a sheriffs office incident report obtained by FITSNews, but reported first by the Post and Courier. A biologist with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and an alligator-removal contractor determined that the animal needed to be humanely euthanized on site, the police said. Four Fatal Gator Attacks in 76 Days Is a Statistical Anomaly. Coverts friend yelled to not get any closer, but Covert continued off the back steps towards to where the alligator was, the report said. In July, a 75-year-old Callawassie Island woman was trimming plants near a community pond when an alligator latched onto her and pulled her into . Last summer, a 68-year-old woman was hospitalized after an alligator attack in Sun City-Hilton Head, the Island Packet repotted. T he death of Cassandra Cline, a 45-year-old . The body of an 88-year-old woman who was killed by an alligator was discovered on Monday in a pond in a gated community near Hilton Head Island, S.C., officials said. The Florida conservation commission said in November 2021 there were 442 unprovoked alligator bites in Florida from 1948 to 2021, averaging six a year. The attack occurred near a lagoon on Hilton Head Island on the state's. Mazzotti says he believes a major factor in Clines death was her dog, which alligators perceive as food. It was at. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. However, it certainly gets a lot of attention while it's hanging out near the entrance of the South Carolina business. Benjamin previously served as Columbia's mayor from 2010 to 2021 and currently sits as the CEO and president of the Benjamin Firm, LLC. Please enter valid email address to continue. ': Hot, hungry alligators are taking lonely strolls in Florida. Mazzoti added alligators "don't perceive humans as either a threat or as food.". Cynthia Covert, 58, died in the attack Friday afternoon on Kiawah Island, Charleston County deputies said. South Carolina has been home to over 100,000 alligators. Don't turn and run, expert warns, according toThe National Wildlife Federation. In 1962, Fraser walked alongside an alligator named Albert for a magazine photoshoot that attracted attention from around the world. The victim was recovered from the pond, and the alligator was removed and euthanized on site. "Anywhere there is standing water, an alligator might be found," The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a statement to USA TODAY. Officials have released a 911 call made after an alligator fatally attacked an 85-year-old woman in Florida earlier this week. The giant reptile was captured and euthanized on site. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is investigating the incident, the latest in a small string of fatal alligator attacks this summer. The creature is most abundant in Louisiana and Florida, with each state having a population of over 1 million alligators. Nancy Becker, 88, was gardening at her living community when she slipped and fell into a lagoon that was home to an alligator. Fatal alligator attacks are rare in the United States. Alligators are naturally afraid of humans, but will attack in certain instances. The body of a man who had been retrieving Frisbees from a lake in Largo, Fla., which serves as a habitat for alligators, was found on May 31. The HCPD said its death investigation remains underway. Alligators only attack when threatened or cornered, but if a human is in water with alligators, it may entice them. Treat your dog like you would treat your child.. A deputy had to shoot and kill the alligator to get Covert away from the animal . Deputies with the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office were notified around 11:15 a.m. about an alligator that looked as if it was "standing guard" beside a . In Fridays killing, the authorities responded around 11:45 a.m. to a water-rescue call, the Horry County Police Department said in a statement. "He's so frightened," she told the operator. While alligator attacks are rare in South Carolina, they are becoming more common as more humans move to alligator-populated areas. My prayers and heart go out to the family as my arms wrap tighter around my kids and dogs near these ponds.. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday, according to the Charleston County Sheriffs Office. "She was walking her little dog, and the gator grabbed the dog," the neighbor added. The sheriff's office received a call around 11:15 a.m. Monday about a large alligator in a gated community by the edge of a pond, guarding a person's body. Florida had an. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Florida commission says the chances of a Florida resident being seriously injured in an unprovoked alligator attack are in one in 3.1 million. Alligator attacks are rare, fatal ones even rarer. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Cline was walking her dog alongside a lagoon adjacent to the Sea Pines Resort golf course when she was attacked about 9:30 a.m. Sea Pine, a 5,200-square-foot gated community, was built in 1957 and is located at the southern tip of Hilton Head Island. A woman was killed in. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. The woman Covert was staying with said she didnt seem herself Friday and walked toward the alligator, which lunged and grabbed her in its mouth when she was about 4 feet away, deputies said. Rattlesnakes:What to know if you're bitten by a rattlesnake, Bears:What should you do if you see a bear? On Aug. 11, Bruce Savage took his dog, Hanna, for a morning walk near. Prior to that attack, an unidentified victim died after analligatordragged them into a pond in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. However, this is the second fatal attack in a month. When it gets really hot in the summer, a lot of time theyll spend time below the water, where its cooler.. Florida is known to be the home of alligators, and residents have numerous run-ins with the reptiles near their homes, golf courses or roads. At 2:30 p.m., the department updated its statement to confirm there was no further threat in the area, and that community members may resume normal activities. An estimated 5 million wild American alligators live across 10 states in Southeast and beyond - even in the southeastern tip of Oklahoma. Mazzotti says people need to be aware of their surrounding when they are near water or in areas where they have been alligator sightings. It appears the victim, Nancy Becker, was gardening near a pond in Sun City . A deputy had to shoot and kill the alligator to get Covert away from the animal, according to the police report released Monday. The womans husband and another man tried beating the alligator with shovels, but the animal swam deeper, the police report said. On Monday morning police responded to a report of an alligator attack at a pond inside the Sun City . ', Man Fatally Shot Ex-Girlfriend's Sister After Convincing Her to Pull Over on Road, Then Killed Himself, remembered by loved ones as being a "good friend. A-Z Animals reports that a 1,500-pound great white shark is off the coast of the Outer Banks in North Carolina. But fatal gator attacks are rare. Of those bites, 26 were fatal, meaning there was one fatal injury nearly every three years in the state. May 5, 2020 / 6:24 AM / CBS/AP. She was a good friend to a lot of people in the park.". This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Fox News Flash top headlines are here. "Our hearts go out to the family and community members impacted by this tragic incident," a statement from police said. Police were notified around 11 . But, theres a caveat. One person has been killed in a fatal alligator attack in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. "Splashing in the water will attract analligators interest, and if it perceives at that point in time that there's something smaller and weaker in the water, it might attack it," Mazzoti said. A deputy shot and killed an alligator closest to the womans body upon arrival to the scene. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. It was at least the fourth deadly alligator attack in the United States so far this year. This attack is the fourth reported in Charleston County history, according to SCDNR records. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. She stated her husband went down and grabbed a shovel and she called 911,the report said. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) Authorities say deputies in South Carolina shot and killed an alligator that fatally attacked a woman. While alligator attacks are rare in South Carolina, they are becoming more common. Leanne Golino. All rights reserved. ABC News' Darren Reynolds contributed to this report. Sure, the baby alligator is certainly not a common sight at the popular coffee shop. 8/16/2022. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. When deputies arrived, the alligator kept surfacing with Covert and going under. "With how many people there are and how many alligators there are, it's really surprising it doesn't happen more often,"Frank Mazzotti, professor of wildlife ecology and member of the "Croc Docs" at the University of Florida, told USA TODAY. Got a tip for a story? Elderly South Carolina Woman Killed by an Alligator After Falling into Pond. Deputies in South Carolina shot and killed an alligator that fatally attacked a woman on Friday, authorities said. The death of Cassandra Cline, a 45-year-old elementary school teacher, who was killed by a 9-foot alligator while protecting her dog on Hilton Head Island Monday made headlines around the world. Covert, of Johns Island, made no sound as the alligator pulled her under, the woman told police. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. In an interview on Sunday, Mr. Repak said it was common to watch alligators walk on a road over a pair of retention ponds. Because theyre cold blooded animals, they regulate their body temperature as best they can based on the environment, he said. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. Jay Butfiloski, the furbearer and alligator program coordinator with the states Natural Resources Department, said that it had seen an increased frequency over the past couple years in alligator attacks but its still a pretty rare event.. CNN A person was killed by an alligator near Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, according to police. Universal Images Group via Getty Images, FILE. Last week, an alligator attacked and ate a 40-pound dog that was playing fetch with his owner in Florida's J.R. Alford Greenway Trail. Then, the gator bit his leg. The victim in the May attack in Florida was identified as Sean Thomas McGuinness. The police believe that Mr. McGuinness, 47, had entered the lake in John S. 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