Giant alligator kills elderly woman during dog walk in Florida
Gloria Serge, an 85-year-old woman, was tragically killed by a 10ft alligator while walking her dog in a gated community of Spanish Lakes Fairways in Florida.
The attack was captured on camera, showing the alligator initially going for Gloria’s dog Trooper before dragging her into the water.
In the video, the alligator can be seen lurking in the water before it starts to slowly move towards Gloria and Trooper.
As Gloria and Trooper stand dangerously close to the water’s edge, the alligator throws itself towards the dog, who manages to evade the reptile’s wide jaws. Instead, the alligator attacks Gloria and eventually pulls her into the water.
Frightened neighbour Carole Thomas witnessed the attack and attempted to save Gloria. Carole desperately phoned 911 and said: “There’s a woman in the lake. The alligator’s got her! I think she’s gone, oh my God.”
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Carole tried to find a pole to pull her to land but it was tragically too late.
She added: “There is no way I could have gotten to her sooner. It’s horrible for her family. It’s just horrible, horrible. And her friends, I spoke to a couple of her friends yesterday who are devastated.”
Following the tragedy, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission cleared the lake of the alligators with Henry, the reptile who killed Gloria, removed and killed by wildlife officials. Jay Mandelker, president of Spanish Lakes Fairways, confirmed the alligators have since been removed.
He told TCPalm: “They did so to allay any concerns and to make us realise the precautions we should take with regard to wildlife, alligators in particular. If you’re walking by a lake, a pond, anywhere in Florida, understand, this is Florida, there could be alligators, so do not walk against the edges of any pond or lake, stay a safe distance away.”
Gloria’s body was later recovered from the lake while her dog, Trooper, survived the attack. Wildlife experts found the alligator who attacked Gloria at the bottom of the lake and dragged it out of the water. It was tackled to the ground by six people before being loaded into the boot of a car and euthanised.
Sheriff Ken Mascara said at the time: “We arrived on scene within minutes and recovered her body, kept surveillance on the alligator with our helicopter and personnel around the lake, and assisted the FWC trapper with identifying the alligator and dragging it out of water. Our prayers go out to the loved ones of the victim and the Spanish Lakes residents who knew victim and witnessed the attack.”
