Florida woman was killed by gator as her husband tried to intervene, officials say

LAKELAND, FL — State wildlife officials person identified the pistillate who was killed by an alligator portion canoeing connected Lake Kissimmee successful cardinal Florida.

Cynthia Diekema, 61, of Davenport, Florida, was killed aft the canoe she was riding successful with her hubby drifted implicit a ample alligator hidden beneath them successful astir 2.5 feet of water, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Maj. Evan Laskowski. The incidental occurred astatine astir 4 p.m., wildlife officials said.

"This is not believed to beryllium a predatory incident, but simply a defence incidental wherever they came upon the alligator beneath the water's edge, and erstwhile the canoe struck it, it caused a reaction," Laskowski said during a quality league May 7 successful Tampa, Florida.

The mates headed retired connected a 14-foot canoe adjacent the rima of Tiger Creek successful Lake Kissimmee, which has the second highest colonisation of alligators successful the state with much than 16,000, according to a 2024 census from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. It's 2nd lone to Lake Okeechobee.

Diekema was sitting successful the bow of the canoe erstwhile the alligator thrashed and tipped the vessel over, according to Laskowski. The mates was sent into the water.

"She ended up connected apical of the alligator successful the h2o and was bitten," Laskowski said. "Her hubby attempted to intervene but was unsuccessful."

Diekema's assemblage was aboriginal spotted by a Polk County Sheriff's Office chopper and recovered by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers, according to Laskowski.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has launched a afloat probe into the incident, said bureau enforcement manager Roger Young.

It's the 2nd clip successful 2 months that an alligator has attacked idiosyncratic successful that area. In March, a woman was bitten connected the elbow on the aforesaid creek, which connects Tiger Lake and Lake Kissimmee.

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Two alligators captured, killed from area

A computer-aided dispatch study obtained by The Ledger, portion of the USA TODAY Network, from the Polk County Sheriff's Office showed authorities wildlife officials reaching retired for assistance astatine 4:05 p.m. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission requested a portion and exigency aesculapian unit for 2 imaginable alligator victims.

The Osceola County Sheriff's Office besides received a telephone astatine 3:59 p.m. reporting a "man advised his woman had been killed by an alligator," according to the dispatch report. Not overmuch different accusation was instantly disposable to Polk County sheriff's deputies.

At 4:35 p.m., the hubby reported "he past saw vic[tim] successful the gator's rima earlier she disappeared," according to the dispatch report. Responders astatine the country had aerial enactment and aboriginal brought drones to the country to assistance hunt for Diekema.

At 5:04 p.m., Polk County sheriff's deputies successful a chopper spotted Diekema from the aerial and reported that the alligator inactive had her successful its mouth.

"The gator actively has the victim," according to the dispatch study astatine 5:05 p.m. Moments later, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers recovered Diekema's assemblage from the h2o arsenic the alligator slipped backmost under.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials said they contracted a trapper who has captured 2 alligators successful the country disconnected Lake Kissimmee since the attack.

Laskowski said the archetypal alligator was 11 feet, 4 inches agelong and matched the statement of the alligator that attacked the couple. A 2nd alligator measuring 10 to 11 feet successful magnitude was besides captured and killed.

State wildlife agents moving with trappers remained adjacent the scene, watching for alligators successful the size scope of interest connected the day of May 7.

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Keeping harmless astir alligators

There person been 487 unprovoked alligator bites connected radical betwixt 1984 and 2024, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Of those, 339 were large bites and 27 were fatal.

The bureau says the chances of a Florida nonmigratory being earnestly injured successful an unprovoked alligator onslaught are one successful 3.1 million.

"While alligator attacks resulting successful fatalities are highly rare, this calamity serves arsenic a somber reminder of the almighty wildlife that stock our earthy spaces," Young said astatine the May 7 quality conference. "Be cautious of your surroundings."

The past fatal onslaught occurred successful 2023 portion a woman was walking her dog along the borderline of a retention pond successful St. Lucie County. The alligator was 10 feet long.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission oversees the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program to assistance code alligators that whitethorn endanger people, pets, oregon property. Each year, it issues tags to hunters crossed Florida to region alligators 4 feet oregon longer.

Young said the bureau accrued the allotment for the 2025 statewide alligator hunt by 1,000 tags. Between the hunt and alligator program, up to 15,000 alligators were taken retired of the chaotic successful 2023, helium said.

"It's hard to accidental those numbers correlate," Young added. "There are going to beryllium alligators successful the colonisation successful the chaotic anyway. With alligators successful the wild, the imaginable is ever there."

The bureau recommended the pursuing tips for staying harmless erstwhile retired successful quality and astir alligators:

• Keep a harmless region if you spot an alligator.

• Keep pets connected a leash and distant from the water’s edge. Pets often lucifer alligators’ earthy prey.

• Swim lone successful designated swimming areas during daylight hours and without your pet. Alligators are astir progressive betwixt dusk and dawn.

• Never provender an alligator. It's amerciable and dangerous.

Contributing: C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida

This nonfiction primitively appeared connected The Ledger: Florida wildlife officials place pistillate killed successful alligator attac​​k