Alligator Attacks Woman Kayaking on Florida River

An 8-foot, 4-inch-long alligator attacked a woman while she was kayaking in Kissimmee State Park. (Photo by Jim Schwabel)

An alligator bit and severely injured a woman who was kayaking with a large group of people near Tiger Creek Canal in Florida’s Lake Kissimmee State Park.

According to Local10.com, a man in the group called 911 for help.

“The animal disappeared but it might not be that far away,” the man could be heard telling the 911 dispatcher in a released recording.

The caller originally reported that another man was injured in the leg and a woman was injured in the arm, but he later confirmed that only the woman had been injured. The alligator had ripped off the man’s life jacket, but the woman was the one bleeding.

“We can’t move her,” he said. “Her arm is really badly damaged.”

A number of other kayakers rushed to her aid, as she couldn’t get back into her kayak or out of the water at first. The caller told the 911 operator that they were also afraid to get the first-aid kit from one of the kayaks that was still in the water.

Polk County Fire Rescue personnel and The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded to the scene after the man sent a pin. First responders in an airboat took the woman to a helicopter, which then flew her to the Osceola Regional Medical Center.

The FWC says the the 8-foot, 4-inch-long alligator was captured by a contracted nuisance alligator trapper and then euthanized.

The FWC urged caution in the water and warned that the risk of an attack increases during the alligator breeding season in Florida, from early April to June.