Elderly Florida woman killed while trying to save her dog from an alligator

Via SWNS

An elderly woman was killed while trying to save her dog - from an alligator.

The 85-year-old was walking her dog when the alligator snatched it in Florida on Monday.

Sheriff’s deputies and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials responded shortly after noon to Spanish Lakes Fairways, a 55-plus community near Fort Pierce.

She saved her dog but fell victim to the alligator.

A video shared by the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office shows a trapper securing the alligator for transport with assistance from FWC officials and sheriff’s deputies.

The reptile, estimated to be about 10 feet long and weigh 600 to 700 pounds, was dragged away from the lake and loaded into the back of a truck.

While injury or death caused by alligators is rare in Florida, there is significant human-alligator conflict.

Nuisance alligators are defined as being over four feet long and considered a threat to people, pets or property.

According to an FWC report on the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program, or SNAP, issued on Feb. 21, the state has 113 contracted nuisance alligator trappers that respond to 10,000 calls for service annually.