Around 11:15 am Monday, authorities were called to Sun City Hilton Head on reports of an alligator guarding the 88-year-old’s body near the manmade lagoon on the property, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Angela Viens told CNN.
Sun City Hilton Head is an active adult community home with more than 16,000 residents on over 5,725 acres, its website states.
The victim had been gardening when she slipped into the pond, officials told CNN affiliate WTOC.
The alligator has been removed from the pond and euthanised, the station reported, citing officials.
The victim was identified as Nancy A. Becker of Sun City, South Carolina, WTOC reported.
The South Carolina Department of Resources and the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office are investigating, WTOC reported.
CNN has reached out to Sun City Hilton Head for comment.
An estimated 5 million wild American alligators live across 10 states in Southeast and beyond – even in the southeastern tip of Oklahoma.
But fatal gator attacks are rare.
Florida had an average of six unprovoked bite incidents each year between 1948 to 2021, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conversation Commission.
Of those 442 cases, 26 resulted in human deaths.
Experts say there are several precautions people can take to avoid getting attacked by an alligator – and ways people can try to break free if a gator attacks.
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