85-year-old woman killed saving dog’s life from 300kg alligator

An 85-year-old woman managed to save her dog’s life but did not survive after a freak attack from a 300kg 3m-long alligator.

An 85-year-old Florida woman was killed by a 3m-long alligator while walking her dog near a pond. Picture: St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office

An 85-year-old Florida woman died Monday while trying to save her dog from a 3m-long alligator.

The freak attack reportedly occurred outside Spanish Lakes Fairways, a retirement community in Fort Pierce, WPTV reported.

According to residents, the unidentified octogenarian had been walking her pet when an alligator suddenly lunged out of the water and grabbed it. The senior attempted to save her pooch, but was dragged underwater, CBS reported.

Eyewitnesses say the gator dragged the woman underwater. Picture: St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office

While the pup survived, the woman was not so lucky.

The victim’s body was subsequently “recovered” when an alligator wrangler was called in to trap the rogue reptile.

“It was definitely a fight,” nuisance alligator trapper Robert Lilly said, recalling the capture. “[We] snagged him on the bottom. He never surfaced. He stayed down the whole time.”

Authorities estimated that the ravenous reptile weighed about 300kg. Picture: St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office

He added, “We were able to get a second hook in him and a hard line in him so we could get him up.”

Accompanying photos and footage show six people corralling the critter, before loading it into the back of a pick-up truck. Experts estimated that the beast measured around 3m-long and weighing about 300kg.

Residents say they had never seen an alligator attack in the area before. Picture: St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office

The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office has reportedly closed several roads in the area, so they can launch a probe into the woman’s death.

While gators are reportedly not an uncommon sight in the area, neighbours claimed they had never witnessed an attack like that before.

This article was originally published by the New York Post and reproduced with permission