An alligator in South Carolina attacked and killed an elderly woman while she was walking her dog, according to the police.
The local authorities disclose that the latest fatal attack is the second incident in the county in less than a year.
Alligator Kills South Carolina Woman
As per a report by CBS News, a 69-year-old resident of the Spanish Well neighborhood at Hilton Head Island in South Carolina walked her dog on Wednesday afternoon. As she and her four-legged friend meandered along the peaceful paths, they unwittingly stumbled upon an alligator.
According to the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, the elderly woman was walking her dog near the lagoon's edge when the gator attacked her. As The New York Times reports, the local authorities found the woman's body, which the reptile attacked, at the edge of the lagoon in Spanish Wells.
The 69-year-old woman strolled her four-legged friend at around 7 am. Moments later, her family member saw her dead body at roughly 9:30 am and promptly contacted the emergency services.
However, when the emergency services reached the scene, they encountered the gator, who refused to let them near the victim's body. The Sheriff's Office recalls, "An alligator appeared and was guarding the woman, interrupting emergency efforts."
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resource says that the male gator, who attacked the woman, is roughly 9 feet and 9 inches. They removed the reptile and euthanized him.
Sad to say, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the emergency personnel pronounced the woman dead at the scene.
South Carolina Alligator Attacks
The Department of Natural Resources revealed that the recent alligator attack is the 24th similar incident since 2000. Last August, USA Today reported that an 88-year-old woman in Beaufort County died after a gator attack near Hilton Head Island. The authorities believe the victim slipped into the water while gardening in the pond before the reptile attacked her.
The officials note that the alligator in the August incident is roughly 9 feet and 8 inches. CBS News reports that South Carolina has been home to gator attacks in recent years. And most of the victims turn out to be elderly women.
Last 2016, an alligator killed a 90-year-old woman after walking out of a nursing home in Charleston. And in 2018, a 45-year-old woman was also walking her dog at Hilton Head Island when a gator fatally attacked her.
In more recent years, authorities found a man dead on Kiawah Island, showing what looks to be alligator bite marks.
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