BRADENTON, Fla. — A 77-year-old woman was bitten by an alligator on Saturday, Sept. 3, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC).
Kathleen Marder was near a pond in a gated community on Ellsworth Avenue in Bradenton when the nearly eight-foot-long alligator bit her.
The FWC, Manatee County Sheriff's Office, and Manatee County EMS arrived at the scene, and Marder was taken to the hospital.
A nuisance alligator trapper removed the alligator while a witness looked on until it was fully captured. Officials stated that they are confident the alligator was removed.
The FWC said that 22 bite incidents have already occurred this year.
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To properly co-exist with alligators, FWC recommended doing the following:
- Keep a safe distance if you see an alligator. If someone is concerned about an alligator, they should call FWC’s toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286), and we will dispatch a contracted nuisance alligator trapper to resolve the situation.
- Keep pets on a leash and away from the water’s edge. Pets often resemble alligators’ natural prey.
- Swim only in designated swimming areas during daylight hours and without your pet. Alligators are most active between dusk and dawn.
- Never feed an alligator. Feeding alligators is illegal and dangerous. When fed, alligators can lose their natural wariness people and instead learn to associate people with the availability of food.
