US state of South Carolina
88-year-old slips while gardening and is killed by alligator
An American alligator swims in a body of water on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
© Rachid Dahnoun / Imago Images
Tragic incident in South Carolina: An 88-year-old resident of a neighborhood for the elderly was apparently attacked and killed by an alligator while gardening.
An alligator attacked and killed an 88-year-old woman in South Carolina. Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office officials were notified around 11:15 a.m. Monday by a resident of the Sun City Hilton Head neighborhood that a large alligator appeared to be standing guard at a pond next to a human body, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said, according to US media With. “When we got there, that’s exactly what we found,” quotes the “New York Times” the spokeswoman.
The body was said to be the corpse of a woman. Rescue workers could have rescued them around 1 p.m. Officials have identified the woman as Nancy B., a resident of the fenced-off neighborhood, which is home to adults 55 and older only.
According to investigators, the old lady was gardening near the pond and slipped into the water, where she was attacked by the alligator. The reptile, an 2.5-meter male, was later captured, removed from the pond and killed.
Sun City Hilton Head is spread over 2300 hectares, of which 600 hectares are open land and wetlands, as can be read on the website. There are dozens of ponds and lagoons in the municipality.
Second fatal alligator attack in South Carolina this year
In the spring and summer, alligators are usually more active than usual because the rising temperatures boost their metabolism and they breed and search for new habitats during this time, several US media write about the incident. Still, animal attacks — especially fatal ones — are rare, according to experts. The attack on the 88-year-old was the fifth deadly alligator attack in South Carolina since 2000 and the second this year. On June 24, a man was attacked and killed near a retention pond near Myrtle Beach.
Sources: “New York Times”, “U.S. Today”, ABC News, Sun City Hilton Head website