An alligator killed a Florida woman. It doesn’t happen often, but here’s what to do if a gator attacks

The alligator, swimming on the surface, closes in on a woman and her dog at a brisk pace, then lunges out of the water at the dog. The dog manages to dodge the alligator’s snapping jaws, leaving the woman within striking distance of the large predator.

The 11-foot-long, 600-pound alligator killed 85-year-old Gloria Serge on Monday while she was walking her small dog along the grassy banks of a suburban pond near Fort Pierce. The dog survived the attack, and the alligator later was euthanized.

Attacks like this are horrifying, but relatively uncommon, considering there are approximately 1.3 million alligators in Florida, and more than 21 million people. From 1948 to 2021, there were 442 unprovoked bite incidents in Florida, 26 of which resulted in people dying, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conversation Commission. That’s an average of almost three deadly alligator attacks per year.