Giant Alligator Kills Man at a Private Golf Community in South Carolina

An 11-foot alligator attacked and killed a man, dragging him into a retention pond at a private golf community in South Carolina on Friday, June 24.

The victim, whose body was recovered from the pond, was a member of the Myrtle Beach yacht club community.

Local authorities are conducting an investigation into the incident, which likely involved an unprovoked alligator attack.

In addition, the South Carolina officials have decided to euthanize the alligator immediately following the attack, and its continued threat in the community.

A month prior to the gator attack, sightings of colossal alligators were seen in the Myrtle Beach Gold and Yacht, highlighting the increasing human-wildlife conflict not only in the area but across the state.

One of these reptiles had a reported size of 12 feet.

Human deaths due to alligator attacks are rare in South Carolina. This is also the case in other parts of the United States, especially in Florida.

However, the increasing population of the said animals and humans has been reportedly associated with the increasing number of attacks.

South Carolina Alligator Attack

The Horry County Police spokeswoman, Mikayla Moskov, stated that members of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR)'s environmental services and criminal investigations divisions have launched a probe regarding the community member's death, as cited by Fox News.

The investigation is still underway even if the Horry County Fire Rescue units confirmed that the giant alligator took hold of the victim before it dragged him into the water.

However, there were no immediate details provided as to how the gator attack transpired.

It was not also clear on whether the man provoked the attack to occur.

Nevertheless, the Horry County Police Department said in a Facebook post that the gator bit the person near the edge of the pond, as cited by CNN.

Alligator Population

The SCDNR said South Carolina is come to a growing population of American alligators living in the coastal marshlands, which is one of the most significant nesting areas.

The population is part of a distributed number of alligators from Florida Everglades to North Carolina in the Atlantic coast.

The South Carolina department stated while American alligators are cold-blooded animals, they are active throughout the year in the state.

Furthermore, it underlined that the month of June is when the majority of nest construction and egg laying takes place.

US Alligator Attacks

According to the Florida Museum, the largest number of alligator attacks have been recorded in Florida, and it is followed by Texas and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.

Alligators have recorded the most injuries being compared to fatalities.

Related incidents are caused by the expansion of human settlements and encroachment into the natural habitats of alligators, leading to habitat loss and disruption of their ecosystem.

Wildlife experts reportedly said that alligator attacks are very rare.

Still, such encounter could still occur in some circumstances, including any close proximity or trigger that would provoke the animals to attack.