south carolina alligator attacksouth carolina alligator attack
Alligator attacks are rare, and there's an even slimmer chance of being killed by one. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. In an extremely rare event, a South Carolina woman was killed in an alligator attack Friday on Kiawah Island, according to the Charleston County Sheriffs Office. Before those attacks, South Carolina had never recorded a person killed by an alligator. It appears the victim, Nancy Becker, was gardening near a pond in Sun City Hilton Head, an adult-only community, and slipped in, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office and the Department of Natural Resources. Weve always looked at the alligators as a part of the community, he said. You have reached your limit of 4 free articles. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says, you have a better chance of getting attacked by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park, Hot, hungry alligators are taking lonely strolls in Florida, meaning there could be an increase in alligator activity, Alligators have a natural fear of humans and usually will retreat when approached, Texas Parks and Wildlife says, Experts from the University of Florida say, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. The police believe that Mr. McGuinness, 47, had entered the lake in John S. Taylor Park at night. 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. "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. But, theres a caveat. KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. A woman killed by an alligator at a South Carolina pond told a friend she wanted to get close to the animal and didnt scream as it attacked her and dragged her into the water, according to a police report. All rights reserved. It appears she was gardening near a pond in an adult-only . "I think she's gone. "She fell down and [it] took her.". One officer was able to shoot the animal as it surfaced again, police said. 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. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. Such attacks are rare in the United States, typically occurring about once a year, but the latest one on Friday was the second in less than a month. An autopsy Monday found Covert died of drowning, the Charleston County Coroners Office said. A woman was killed in an apparent alligator attack in South Carolina on Monday, police said. When deputies arrived, the alligator kept surfacing with Covert and going under. On the call, a neighbor who "just happened to look" outside when the attack occurred can be heard frantically telling the 911 operator "the alligator's got her" and to "please hurry," according to ABC affiliate WPBF. You try to maintain distance from the banks, and when you see them out, you admire them from afar. After the attack, the FWC said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE that the alligator was captured and killed by a contracted nuisance alligator trapper. In South Carolina, they can be found in the states coastal marshlands, according to the Department of Natural Resources. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. According to the report, Covert's friend yelled at her not to get closer, but she continued off the back steps towards where the alligator was located, CBS affiliate WCSC reported. An alligator lays in the grass in Myrtle Beach, S.C., April 29, 2003. The woman was walking her dog around a Hilton Head. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. A woman killed by an alligator at a South Carolina pond told a friend she wanted to get close to the animal and didn't scream as it attacked her and dragged her . 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. A deputy shot and killed an alligator closest to the womans body upon arrival to the scene. A baby alligator was spotted running on the loose outside of a South Carolina Starbucks recently. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. A woman who was attacked by an alligator Thursday on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina was rescued by a neighbor who hit the animal with a shovel, authorities said. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Its unlikely for them to leave the water to come after someone, he said. The death on Friday was the first from an alligator attack in South Carolina since May 2020, when 58-year-old Cynthia Covert was dragged into a pond behind her friends home on Kiawah Island, near Charleston, according to The Post and Courier. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday, according to the Charleston County Sheriffs Office. The authorities did not release the victims name, age or other circumstances about the attack. A biologist and a contracted alligator removal service from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources determined the alligator should be humanely euthanized on site, according to police. Four Fatal Gator Attacks in 76 Days Is a Statistical Anomaly. The victim was recovered from the pond, and the alligator was removed and euthanized on site. The witness said Covert was not acting like her normal self. She said she was cleaning up and noticed her friend on the back steps, very close to the alligator. On Monday morning police responded to a report of an alligator attack at a pond inside the. The latest was at least the fourth in the United States since May and the second this year in South Carolina. Mazzoti said you're more than likely to drown in water than be attacked by an alligator. T he death of Cassandra Cline, a 45-year-old . She saw an alligator and was fascinated by it and went to touch it, against her friends warning. A woman was killed in an apparent alligator attack in South Carolina on Monday, police said. Alligators are active during spring and summer because when temperatures rise, their metabolism increases and they look for food, Melody Kilborn, a spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, told ABC News last month. Florida had an. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. An investigation into the death is continuing, the police said. Please enter valid email address to continue. Don't turn and run, expert warns. Kilborn urged people to follow these safety tips: alligators are most active at night, so only swim in designated swimming areas during daylight hours; never feed an alligator; and keep your pets on a leash and away from the water's edge. As friends tried to yank her from the alligators grasp, she calmly said, I guess I wont do this again, moments before the alligator rolled and pulled her under the water, the newspaper reported. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, By Gina Martinez August 21, 2018 4:16 PM EDT. An 88-year-old woman was killed in an apparent alligator attack in South Carolina on Monday, officials said. A person in South Carolina was killed after being dragged into a retention pond by an alligator near Myrtle Beach on Friday, authorities said. Over the course of the phone call, which lasted for over eight minutes, the neighbor said she had gone to get a pole to rescue the woman after the attack. Sun City Hilton Head, a residential community for older adults that has many ponds, is about 15 miles west of Hilton Head Island and covers roughly nine square miles. 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story", Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, What to know about Shigella bacteria as drug-resistant strain spreads, Woman killed in South Carolina gator attack, Top McCarthy aide, House Oversight chair each met with Ashli Babbitt's mother, Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect. Associate Editor, Human Interest - PEOPLE. Studio, Officials Say Shark Attacked Woman Who Vanished While Snorkeling with Husband, Blast 'Conspiracy Theories', Woman Who Vanished in Shark Attack While Snorkeling with Husband Was 'Following Dreams' on Hawaii Trip, Shocking Video Shows Fla. Man Trapping Alligator into Garbage Bin: 'Somebody's Gotta Step Up', Elderly Florida Woman Killed by 2 Alligators After Falling into a Pond Near Her Home, Fla. Man Attacked by 7-Foot Alligator Outside Motel After Mistaking It For a Dog, 1 Dead in Fatal Alligator Attack at South Carolina Retention Pond Near Myrtle Beach, Florida Deputies Relocate Alligator Found in Garage Near Sheriff's Office: 'Later Gator! The fatal alligator attack in South Carolina on Friday was the first in the state since May 2020. Cynthia Covert, 58, died in the attack Friday afternoon on Kiawah Island, Charleston County deputies said. "Our prayers go out to the loved ones of the victim and the Spanish Lakes' residents who knew the victim and witnessed the attack," Sheriff Ken Mascara said in a statement shared on social media. 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. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says licensed hunters remove over 1,000 nuisance alligators which are any ones deemeda "threat to pets, livestock or humans" a year, and attack reports in the state are usually just encounters. Deputies in South Carolina shot and killed an alligator that fatally attacked a woman on Friday, authorities said. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. May 5, 2020 / 6:24 AM / CBS/AP. Alligator attacks are rare, and there's an even slimmer chance of being killed by one. ", RELATED VIDEO: Officials Say Shark Attacked Woman Who Vanished While Snorkeling with Husband, Blast 'Conspiracy Theories'. Fire rescue and police arrived around 11:45 a.m.. Shizuka Matsuki, 47, was last seen walking her two dogs in South Florida before her body was found miles away in a lake in Davie, Florida. When Covert was about four feet from the edge of the water, the alligator attacked and dragged her into the water, according to the incident report. Messages left for the department were not immediately returned on Sunday. However, at 5:46 p.m., the HCPD released a statement that the Environmental Services and Criminal Investigations Divisions were working on a death investigation. The Horry County Fire Rescue Department told ABC News it had no further information as of Monday morning. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. Because theyre cold blooded animals, they regulate their body temperature as best they can based on the environment, he said. Responders found the gator "guarding" Becker, officials said. The alligator, a 9-foot, 8-inch male, was later captured, removed from the pond and euthanized, officials said. Elderly South Carolina Woman Killed by an Alligator After Falling into Pond. The fatal alligator attack in South Carolina on Friday was the first in the state since May 2020. 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. In 2018, an eight-foot-long . The unidentified woman. The giant reptile was captured and euthanized on site. Then, the gator bit his leg. According to a 2019 University of Florida analysis, venomous injuries largely from contact with hornets, wasps and bees resulted in an average of more than 56 fatalities per year in the United States, compared with about one per year from alligator attacks. Firefighters used poles to get Covert out of the pond but she died at the hospital, authorities said. The first was an elderly woman in Charleston County in 2016. Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter:@jordan_mendoza5. An autopsy Monday found Covert died of drowning, the Charleston County Coroner's Office said. Don't turn and run, expert warns, according toThe National Wildlife Federation. This is the first deadly alligator attack in the state since May 2020, according to authorities. This is the first deadly alligator attack in the state since May 2020, according to authorities. Alligators tend to be more active at night, Mr. Butfiloski said, and come out around dusk. Experts from the University of Florida say to run in a straight line if an alligator is chasing you. Jurors on Wednesday visited the South Carolina estate where prosecutors say disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh shot and killed his wife and son, touring the crime scene before . A woman was killed in an alligator attack Monday in South Carolina,officials confirmed,in what has become an unusual year for alligator attacks. Alligator attacks are rare but not surprising, Major Viens said of the area. Becker's autopsy will be conducted Tuesday, officials said. When nuisance trappers go into an area with gators theyll often play a recording of a dog barking and the gators will come and investigate.. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. A South Carolina woman was rescued by a neighbor Thursday morning during a violent alligator attack in the state, authorities said. In 1962, Fraser walked alongside an alligator named Albert for a magazine photoshoot that attracted attention from around the world. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. Covert was pulled under the water shortly after, the report read. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. A man was killed on Friday after being dragged into a retention pond by an alligator near Myrtle Beach, S.C., the first such deadly attack in the state since 2020, the authorities said. An 88-year-old woman was killed in an apparent alligator attack in South Carolina on Monday, officials said. Officials have released a 911 call made after an alligator fatally attacked an 85-year-old woman in Florida earlier this week. A man has died after an alligator attack in Myrtle Beach, S.C., June 24, 2022. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Also make yourself appear as big as possible, the bigger you appear, the less likely the gator is to engage.. Legal Statement. A good comparison would be that a dog is like what a bowl of pasta or chicken is to a human, when an alligator sees a dog they see their next meal, he says. Nancy Becker, 88, was gardening at her living community when she slipped and fell into a lagoon that was home to an alligator. A deputy had to shoot and kill the alligator to get Covert away from the animal, according to the police report released Monday. 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