The unnamed victim was found last Friday around 11:45 a.m. near Excalaber Court outside of . 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. Covert was pulled under the water shortly after, the report read. T he death of Cassandra Cline, a 45-year-old . The Associated Press contributed to this report. Police were notified around 11 . Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. While mating season brings an increase in their movement around May and June, alligator movement this time of year tends to be among waterways. Mazzoti added alligators "don't perceive humans as either a threat or as food.". It was the fourthdeath from alligator attacks this year after a man was killed looking for Frisbees on May 31 in Florida,another manwas killed near a retention pond in South Carolina on June 24and an 80-year-old Florida woman was killed along a golf course. 8/16/2022. Serge was remembered by loved ones as being a "good friend. If an alligator attacks, experts say to poke at its eyes and punch and kick it around the head. However, it certainly gets a lot of attention while it's hanging out near the entrance of the South Carolina business. Mazzoti said you're more than likely to drown in water than be attacked by an alligator. A 43-year-old man was attackedby an alligatorand treated for a "serious injury in his arm" onJuly 20and a 34-year-old man was bit on his face during a swim in a Florida lake onAug. 4. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says licensed hunters remove over 1,000 nuisance alligators which are any ones deemeda "threat to pets, livestock or humans" a year, and attack reports in the state are usually just encounters. Leanne Golino. 1:39 A person in South Carolina was killed by an alligator Friday near a community retention pond outside Myrtle Beach, authorities said. Treat your dog like you would treat your child.. SCDNR officials have estimated that 100,000 alligators live in South Carolina. Alligators tend to be more active at night, Mr. Butfiloski said, and come out around dusk. ", "She played cards," Sandy Sauers, a friend, told WPBF. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? First published on August 15, 2022 / 7:30 PM. Alligator Attacks and Kills Florida Woman, 85, Who Was Walking Her Dog. According to SCDNR South Carolina has had only three fatal alligator attacks in its recorded history and each occurred within the last four years. Four Fatal Gator Attacks in 76 Days Is a Statistical Anomaly. Moments before the attack, the womans friend warned her to not get closer to the alligator, according to a sheriffs office incident report obtained by FITSNews, but reported first by the Post and Courier. Don't turn and run, expert warns. They aren't the only run-ins people have had with the creatures. He said the reports come amid an increase in building development and in the number of people moving into areas previously occupied by alligators. An 80-year-old woman was killed by two alligators in Englewood, Fla., in July; a man who had been retrieving Frisbees from a lake in Largo, Fla., was killed in May; and in June, a man was killed after being dragged into a retention pond by an alligator in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Officials said there had been 18 alligator-related episodes and five deaths reported in South Carolina since 2000. 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) Authorities say deputies in South Carolina shot and killed an alligator that fatally attacked a woman. Messages left for the department were not immediately returned on Sunday. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Officials have released a 911 call made after an alligator fatally attacked an 85-year-old woman in Florida earlier this week. CBS affiliate WCSC-TV reports that the coroner identified the victim as Cynthia . She stated her husband went down and grabbed a shovel and she called 911,the report said. You try to maintain distance from the banks, and when you see them out, you admire them from afar. In July, an elderly woman waskilled by two alligatorsin a pond near her Florida home. Deadly alligator attacks on humans are rare. It appears the victim, Nancy Becker, was gardening near a pond in Sun City Hilton Head, an adult-only community, and slipped in, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office and the Department of Natural Resources. When it gets really hot in the summer, a lot of time theyll spend time below the water, where its cooler.. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Alligators do not have an instinct to attack humans, he says. May is mating season for alligators in South Carolina, which means alligators are more active this time of the year. Alligators will often reposition its bite, take advantage of that to get away. Cynthia Covert, 58, died in the attack Friday afternoon on Kiawah Island, Charleston County deputies said. The alligator took hold of a person near the edge of a retention pond on Friday,. The woman Covert was staying with said she didnt seem herself Friday and walked toward the alligator, which lunged and grabbed her in its mouth when she was about 4 feet away, deputies said. Its also very important for humans to keep their distance from these creatures, experts stress. The victim has not been identified. That said, South Carolina's Post and Courier reports that the state recorded five deaths resulting from alligator attacks between 2016 and 2022 but none in the previous 16 years. An estimated 5 million wild American alligators live across 10 states in Southeast and beyond - even in the southeastern tip of Oklahoma. Such attacks are rare in the United States, typically occurring about once a year, but the latest one on Friday was the second in less than a month. Or an issue youd like to address proactively? Alligators only attack when threatened or cornered, but if a human is in water with alligators, it may entice them. The victim, identified as Cynthia Covert, was dragged into a pond behind her friend's home on Kiawah Island, near Charleston, and said calmly, "I guess I won't do this again," as her friend tried to pull her away from the alligator. All Rights Reserved. From our records, there wasnt an attack from 1915 to 1976, but that could just be because they werent newsworthy back then.. The alligator, a 9-foot, 8-inch male, was later captured, removed from the pond and euthanized, officials said. Stephen Benjamin, the former mayor of Columbia, S.C., will be the new senior adviser and director of the Office of Public Engagement, replacing Keisha Lance Bottoms, the White House announced on Monday. "And then her husband, he was in charge with bocce years ago, and he passed away. This is the first deadly alligator attack in the state since May 2020, according to authorities. Universal Images Group via Getty Images, FILE. By Gina Martinez August 21, 2018 4:16 PM EDT. Police said the victim, whose identity has not been released yet, was recovered from the pond and the alligator was removed. CLICK HERE. The womans husband and another man tried beating the alligator with shovels, but the animal swam deeper, the police report said. Mazzotti says he believes a major factor in Clines death was her dog, which alligators perceive as food. Elderly South Carolina Woman Killed by an Alligator After Falling into Pond. The death on Friday was the first from an alligator attack in South Carolina since May 2020, when 58-year-old Cynthia Covert was dragged into a pond behind her friends home on Kiawah Island, near Charleston, according to The Post and Courier. 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story", Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, What to know about Shigella bacteria as drug-resistant strain spreads, Woman killed in apparent alligator attack, Woman killed in apparent South Carolina alligator attack, Top McCarthy aide, House Oversight chair each met with Ashli Babbitt's mother, Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect. As of August, there were 23 total alligator attacks since 1915, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. The area in the Outer Banks is a favorite hangout spot for great white sharks, apparently. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. A baby alligator was spotted running on the loose outside of a South Carolina Starbucks recently. Early in the year, when water is cooler, its common to see them on the banks sunning themselves. Florida, which has the most human-alligator interactions, has recorded 24 deadly alligator attacks since 1948 but 14 of those have occurred in the last 20 years, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission data. Firefighters used poles to get Covert out of the pond but she died at the hospital, authorities said. As of August, there were 23 total alligator attacks since 1915, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Hilton Head Island residents share the roads with 2,000 - 4,000 alligators - who use an "alligator crossing" to cross busy roads. A man has died after an alligator attack in Myrtle Beach, S.C., June 24, 2022. The sheriff's office received a call around 11:15 a.m. Monday about a large alligator in a gated community by the edge of a pond, guarding a person's body. An investigation into the death is continuing, the police said. Alligators are naturally afraid of humans, but will attack in certain instances. Alligator attacks, like one after which a woman was found dead near Hilton Head Island, S.C., are rare but not surprising, said Maj. Angela Viens of the Beaufort County sheriffs office. This was the first fatal attack in the state by an alligator since May 2020. The fatal alligator attack in South Carolina on Friday was the first in the state since May 2020. This same shark off the coast of the Outer Banks began its tracking in . The Beaufort County Sheriffs Office responded to a 911 call at 11:15 a.m. on Monday from a Sun City Hilton Head resident who reported that a large alligator was guarding a human body. A 90-year-old woman walked out of a Charleston nursing home in 2016 andwas killed, while a 45-year-old woman walking her dog wasfatally attacked on Hilton Head Islandin August 2018. She stated her husband tried hitting the alligator as the alligator kept dragging her friend back into the water.. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. ", RELATED VIDEO: Officials Say Shark Attacked Woman Who Vanished While Snorkeling with Husband, Blast 'Conspiracy Theories'. A Florida man thought a 7-foot alligator was dog on long leash. While he was unaware of the details of Mondays alligator attack, Mr. Butfiloski said that such attacks typically happen when a person is near the edge of a body of water, and occur more frequently when a person is accompanied by a pet. Fraser actually marketed the Sea Pines Resort using the allure of alligators. One officer was able to shoot the animal as it surfaced again, police said. Covert, of Johns Island, made no sound as the alligator pulled her under, the woman told police. ABC News' Darren Reynolds contributed to this report. "Anytime you show up next to water, you're assuming some risk Don't tempt it.". Legal Statement. Theyre not going to chase you down the fairway in these golfing communities., Alligator Kills 88-Year-Old Woman in South Carolina, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/15/us/alligator-attack-south-carolina.html. Charleston County harvested at least 162 alligators between 2017- 2018, while Beaufort County harvested 104 in that time. Alligator attacks are very rare, even in Louisiana and Florida. The HCPD and the Horry County Coroner's Office did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment. But, theres a caveat. 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