A Florida alligator took a chomp of a man's face when he was swimming in Lake Thonotosassa in Hillsborough County on Thursday, August 4. The 34-year-old victim survived the incident and was immediate hospitalized following yet another unprovoked alligator attack in the state.
Local authorities confirmed the incident occurred in the afternoon hours of Thursday. It is unclear if whether or not the man was aware of the danger lurking in the Florida lake, which is a common habitat of the reptiles in the state but also in other inland bodies of water in the United States and other countries worldwide.
Although experts claim that fatal alligator attacks are rare, multiple related incidents have been recorded in Florida over recent months and years. A number of these deadly alligator attacks occurred within the lake or its vicinity as people go near them. Some incidents transpired inside golf course areas and gated communities where the murky is also resided by the reptilians.
The relatively frequent alligator attacks or encounter in Florida is somehow expected, since there is a large number of the animal's population across the Sunshine State. While most encounter occur the gator habitat, there are also instances when human-wildlife conflict transpires in residential areas.
Lake Thonotosassa Alligator Attack
A contracted alligator trapper was dispatched into the area and an investigation is underway, according to a statement shared by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) to CNN.
The US wildlife agency also received the initial details of the incident when it received a call at around 3:45 p.m. local time on the said date.
The agency also urges people to avoid alligators, as well as handling or feeding them. In particular, the emphasis is placed on the so-called "nuisance alligators" which have a size of at least four feet and perceived to pose a threat to people, their pets, and property, as summarized by the US media network.
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Florida Alligator Attacks
In the US alone, alligator attacks are common in the Florida and Louisiana. They are followed by Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina in terms of the number of related gator attacks.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (WLF) stated that licensed hunters have removed more than 1,000 nuisance alligators in the state, where reported attacks are just encounters, as cited by USA Today.
In Florida, the FWC in November 2021 stated there were 442 unprovoked alligator bites from 1948 to 2021, with an average of six per year. Out of these attacks, 26 were fatal and one fatal injury in nearly every three years, the US media outlet says.
Florida Alligator Population
The FWC estimates there are approximately 1.3 million alligators in Florida living in all of the state's 67 counties, inhabiting all wild areas.
Under its Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP), the agency has removed nuisance alligators from swimming pools, garages, and other areas within human settlements.
The FWC says the removal of the dangerous alligators does not pose a significant impact to its population.
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