(NewsNation) — An alligator was killed this weekend after Florida officials say it attacked a 77-year-old woman at a retirement community.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said it received a call at around 6 p.m. Saturday about a 7-foot-11-inch alligator attacking a woman at a pond in the Del Webb retirement community in the city of Bradenton, NewsNation affiliate WFLA reported.
The woman was taken to a hospital to be treated, authorities said.
The alligator was trapped and killed by FWC, WFLA reported. It was the only alligator in the area that matched the description of the one that attacked the woman.
Saturday’s attack was the latest of several this year. In August, a firefighter’s jaw was broken and he spent 10 days in the hospital recovering after he was bitten. A woman was killed in July when she fell into a pond and was likely attacked by two gators, and a man was killed in May when police believe he was attacked while looking for Frisbees.
Alligator encounters remain relatively rare. Over the past 10 years, Florida has averaged about eight unprovoked attacks annually that require medical treatment, according to the Fish and Conservation Commission. From 1948 to 2021, 26 attacks in Florida have resulted in death.