WRONG TIME WRONG PLACE

On September 26 84-year-old Carol Hough of Leesburg in central Florida was in critical condition at an Orlando hospital after surgery. Hough was flailing around 6:30 AM in a 4-foot-deep canal that ran behind her mobile home when she was attacked by an 8-foot alligator that ripped off her right arm between the elbow and shoulder. Death is not always found in the ‘Glades. Everywhere there’s water there’s likely to be a lurking alligator.

The canal connects to a larger waterway that is home to large alligators.  The alligator that bit Hough was shot by a wildlife officer and sunk to the bottom of the canal.  Alligators that bite or attack humans are usually killed so authorities was attempt to retrieve severed limbs and prevent the animals from attacking again.  However because an alligator’s stomach acids are comparable to battery acid typically the limbs are too badly damaged.  Hough was rescued by a neighbor who pulled her to safety.

Alligator attacks are rare compared to dog bites or lightening strikes.  Most attacks are provoked by humans feeding the animals or doing something that causes them to react.

In my next blog I’ll talk about some of the people who were caught feeding alligators.