A South Carolina woman was killed Tuesday after an alligator attacked her and her dog.
A 69-year-old resident of the Spanish Wells neighborhood of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, was reportedly walking her dog Tuesday morning near the edge of a lagoon in the area, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
When officials responded around 9:30 a.m., they found the woman unresponsive near the water. They were also confronted by an alligator, which was guarding the woman’s body and impeding rescue attempts, the statement said.
Alligator enters home through doggy doorLouisiana couple finds a 5-foot alligator in their home. It entered through the doggy door.
After the gator was safely removed, officials were able to recover the body, which will be sent for an autopsy at the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office. Police did not specify if the dog she was walking was also injured or killed in the incident.
The police statement notes this is the second such fatal attack to happen in Beaufort County in less than a year. The first of which occurred in August 2022 when an 88-year-old woman was attacked and killed in nearby Sun City.
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Alligator safety
For those living in alligator territory, experts at Gator World Parks suggest a few tips for keeping safe around these dangerous creatures.
- Do not approach a gator. Stay at least 30 feet back and back away even further if they begin to hiss at or move towards you. Do not assume they can’t catch you if you run: American alligators can move up to 30 mph on land in short bursts.
- Know when and where gators like to hang out. They are most active between dusk and dawn and prefer sunbathing along water banks during the day. Avoid swimming or hanging around these locations and at these times.
- Do not fish near alligators and move away from a fishing spot if one approaches. Do not ever feed gators. Dispose of leftover scraps from fish, bait and food in proper containers and do not throw them back into the water or leave them near the water’s edge.
- Do not allow pets or children to swim in, drink from or approach bodies of water known to have alligators present. If you live in an area with a lot of gator activity, take precautions such as monitoring pets when they are outside or building fences at least four and a half feet tall.
- Avoid locations near bodies of water that may be nests. Female alligators will become abnormally aggressive to protect them. Keep an eye out for collections of twigs, grass and disturbed soil and steer clear if you see them.