Alligator kills 85-year-old woman walking her dog in a Florida neighborhood, FWC says

An 85-year-old woman died Monday afternoon after getting attacked by a large alligator while walking her small dog in a Florida neighborhood, according to authorities.

Gloria Serge’s body was recovered at the scene, and a nuisance trapper captured the alligator involved in the fatal attack, Arielle Callender, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, told the Miami Herald. On Tuesday, FWC said the reptile was euthanized.

Around noon Monday, officers from the FWC and the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office say they hurried to northern St. Lucie County after receiving emergency calls from witnesses at Spanish Lakes Fairways, a 55-plus living community.

Callender said Serge was walking her dog along the edge of the community’s retention pond when an approximately 10-foot-long alligator attempted to bite her dog before pulling her into the water by one of her feet. According to WPTV, the dog survived the attack.

“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of the victim,” Callender said.

Serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida. In 2021, there were at least seven major and two minor alligator bites on people, and none of those were fatal, according to FWC data last updated in November of that year.

People with concerns about the reptiles are encouraged to call FWC’s toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR or 866-392-4286.