POLK COUNTY, Fla. – An investigative report on an alligator attack in March claimed that the attack was cut short when a man stuck his fingers into the alligator’s eyes.
News 6 obtained the report Wednesday from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, nearly three months after the attack unfolded in Polk County.
The report details a series of events that transpired in the afternoon of March 3, as a group of kayakers were navigating the Tiger Creek Canal in Polk County.
Two people were listed as victims in the report. A 64-year-old woman suffered serious injuries to her right arm, while a 70-year-old man was able to emerge unscathed from the incident.
A few hours after the incident, the woman recounted details to investigators from her hospital bed. She still appeared to be in shock, according to the report.
She told investigators she “felt something bump against her paddle, and all she remembers after that was pressure on her arm and then subsequently being taken out of her kayak and into the water by what she could only assume was an alligator.”
The woman said she was not feeding the alligator and was not aware of any nearby alligator nest, according to the report.
The report detailed her husband’s frantic efforts to pull her onto his kayak and bring her to safety.
The 70-year-old male victim told investigators that while the woman’s husband was trying to help, he also paddled over to assist. He said the alligator turned its attention to him, “attacked him, grabbed the front of his life vest, and pulled him underwater.”
The man said he was able to find his footing and “stuck my fingers deep into [the] gator’s eyes.”
He said that he was able to undo his life vest, and the alligator left with it in its mouth.
A day later, the report stated, trappers located and killed a 8′3″ alligator in the immediate area where the incident happened.
Investigators determined that the incident did not appear to be provoked, and that there was “no evidence of anyone feeding or molesting the alligators in the area the incident occurred.”
They said that based on their investigation, it appeared the alligator was acting in a “protective/territorial manner.” Noting that the incident happened in the weeks leading up to courting and mating season, investigators said the alligator was likely agitated.
The report said the alligator may have been drawn towards the kayaks due to the splashing of the paddles in the water.
The report also included investigators’ efforts to learn about the woman’s condition in the days that followed the attack.
The last update, from March 11, noted that it appeared “for the time being,” the woman would not have to have her arm amputated. Medical staff were, however, still concerned about a possible infection and were uncertain about the future functionality of her arm.
