Got a tip for a story? Don't turn and run, expert warns, according toThe National Wildlife Federation. While mating season brings an increase in their movement around May and June, alligator movement this time of year tends to be among waterways. Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Because theyre cold blooded animals, they regulate their body temperature as best they can based on the environment, he said. An autopsy Monday found Covert died of drowning, the Charleston County Coroners Office said. A person walking their dog discovered his body along the shoreline the next morning, the police said. Witness To Fatal SC Alligator Attack Said Victim Was 4 Feet From Pond And Warned Of Danger, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, alligator attacks are rare in South Carolina, 100,000 alligators live in South Carolina, South Carolina Beach Access Battle: Lowcountry Residents Turning On Each Other, SC Coronavirus: Projected Death Toll Skyrockets As Cases Climb, LIVE FEED Murdaugh Murders Trial: Day Twenty-Seven, South Carolina Freedom Caucus Files Lawsuit, Murdaugh Murders Trial: Attorney General Stands And Delivers. One person has been killed in a fatal alligator attack in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. "Anytime you show up next to water, you're assuming some risk Don't tempt it.". Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, a statement from the Horry County Police Department. This is the first deadly alligator attack in the state since May 2020, according to authorities. The first was an elderly woman in Charleston County in 2016. She stated her husband tried to save her friend, but the alligator dragged her under the water, the report said. A deputy had to shoot and kill the alligator to get Covert away from the animal, according to the police report released Monday. The deadly attack, in a gated community near Hilton Head Island, S.C., was at least the fourth in the country this year. The body of an 88-year-old woman was found near a pond in a gated community near Hilton Head, South Carolina, after what authorities suspect was an alligator attack. ': Hot, hungry alligators are taking lonely strolls in Florida. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? Alligators will often reposition its bite, take advantage of that to get away. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 1:39 A person in South Carolina was killed by an alligator Friday near a community retention pond outside Myrtle Beach, authorities said. 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. A South Carolina woman was rescued by a neighbor Thursday morning during a violent alligator attack in the state, authorities said. Jurors on Wednesday visited the South Carolina estate where prosecutors say disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh shot and killed his wife and son, touring the crime scene before . You try to maintain distance from the banks, and when you see them out, you admire them from afar. Covert was pulled under the water shortly after, the report read. Becker's autopsy will be conducted Tuesday, officials said. Before that, Bonnie Walker, 90, wandered off her senior living center and was killed in an attack in Charleston, South Carolina in 2016. According to the report, Covert's friend yelled at her not to get closer, but she continued off the back steps towards where the alligator was located, CBS affiliate WCSC reported. On the call, a neighbor who "just happened to look" outside when the attack occurred can be heard frantically telling the 911 operator "the alligator's got her" and to "please hurry," according to ABC affiliate WPBF. Alligator attacks are rare, fatal ones even rarer. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Fatal alligator attacks are rare rare enough that they attract a lot of attention when they happen. In an interview on Sunday, Mr. Repak said it was common to watch alligators walk on a road over a pair of retention ponds. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. "I think she's gone. The 10-foot alligator, estimated at 400-500 pounds, then attacked Covert, who officials said was 5 feet tall and 100 pounds. The last reported case of a fatal alligator attack in the U.S was in June. "She fell down and [it] took her.". Once officers arrived on the scene, officials determined that "an alligator had taken hold of a neighbor and retreated into a nearby retention pond," a statement from the Horry County Police Department said. Hilton Head Island residents share the roads with 2,000 - 4,000 alligators - who use an "alligator crossing" to cross busy roads. Authorities say the woman "died as a result of the incident" and that her body was recovered, according to a statement previously obtained by PEOPLE from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Prior to that attack, an unidentified victim died after analligatordragged them into a pond in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. You can induce a gator's gag reflex by jamming objects in the back of its mouth, and when it tries to reposition prey in its mouth, that's your chance to escape. Benjamin previously served as Columbia's mayor from 2010 to 2021 and currently sits as the CEO and president of the Benjamin Firm, LLC. Alligators are naturally afraid of humans, but will attack in certain instances. The first one was not fatal, she added. An 88-year-old woman was killed in an apparent alligator attack in South Carolina on Monday, officials said. The fatal alligator attack in South Carolina on Friday was the first in the state since May 2020. Then, the gator bit his leg. A man was killed after he was attacked and dragged into a pond in South Carolina by an 11-foot alligator, officials said. Fatal alligator attacks are typically rare in the United States, with the Center for Disease and Prevention reporting that alligators killed only 10 people in the Southeast from 1999 to 2019. Alligator Fatally Attacks Man at the Edge of a South Carolina Pond, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/26/us/myrtle-beach-fatal-alligator-attack.html. Cynthia Covert, 58, drowned Friday after an alligator repeatedly pulled her into a pond on Kiawah Island, according to a report from the Charleston County Sheriff's Office. Alligators are naturally afraid of humans, but will attack in certain instances. In July, a 75-year-old Callawassie Island woman was trimming plants near a community pond when an alligator latched onto her and pulled her into . Now and then, he will see photos in the local news media of an alligator out and about, he said. The animal latched onto Covert's left leg and began pulling her into. A deputy had to shoot and kill the alligator to get Covert away from the animal, according to the police report released Monday. Deputies in South Carolina shot and killed an alligator that fatally attacked a woman on Friday, authorities said. Aug. 15, 2022 The body of an 88-year-old woman who was killed by an alligator was discovered on Monday in a pond in a gated community near Hilton Head Island, S.C., officials said. The victim has not been identified. This is the first deadly alligator attack in the state since May 2020, according to authorities. This marks the fifth alligator death in South Carolina since 2000, according to the Department of Natural Resources and the sheriff's office. The giant reptile was captured and euthanized on site. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. After the attack, the FWC said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE that the alligator was captured and killed by a contracted nuisance alligator trapper. The good news for humans: Alligators have a natural fear of humans and usually will retreat when approached, Texas Parks and Wildlife says. Just off of Cape Point this 1,500 shark was spotted on February 28th. According to a 2019 University of Florida analysis, venomous injuries largely from contact with hornets, wasps and bees resulted in an average of more than 56 fatalities per year in the United States, compared with about one per year from alligator attacks. The Horry County Fire Rescue Department told ABC News it had no further information as of Monday morning. The dog survived the attack, per the FWC. In 2018, an eight-foot-long . Market data provided by Factset. It was at. 'Walkers beware! Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth. Magazines, Or create a free account to access more articles, Why Deadly Alligator Attacks Like South Carolina Are a Growing Trend. It was at least the fourth deadly alligator attack in the United States so far this year. The officers were called to a pond on Kiawah Island around 5 p.m. and saw. The gator, a 9-foot, 8-inch male, has been euthanized, officials said. Rattlesnakes:What to know if you're bitten by a rattlesnake, Bears:What should you do if you see a bear? When deputies arrived, the alligator kept surfacing with Covert and going under. Don't turn and run, expert warns. The alligator took hold of a person near the edge of a retention pond on Friday,. This attack is the fourth reported in Charleston County history, according to SCDNR records. Firefighters used poles to get Covert out of the pond but she died at the hospital, authorities said. "With how many people there are and how many alligators there are, it's really surprising it doesn't happen more often,"Frank Mazzotti, professor of wildlife ecology and member of the "Croc Docs" at the University of Florida, told USA TODAY. She kept yelling as Covert crept closer to the gator. "He's so frightened," she told the operator. Still, attacks, especially fatal ones, are rare. Texas Parks and Wildlifesays a safe distance away from an alligator is at least 30 feet, and while extremely rare for them to chase humans, they can run up to 35 mph for a short period of time. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Alligator attacks are very rare, even in Louisiana and Florida. It was no walk in the park for a South Carolina man who saved his dog from an alligator attack during a morning stroll. The witness said Covert was not acting like her normal self. She said she was cleaning up and noticed her friend on the back steps, very close to the alligator. The woman Covert was staying with said she didn't 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. CLICK HERE. 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. She was a good friend to a lot of people in the park.". I couldnt have imagined that it was likely one of these alligators that would later kill a man, he wrote on Friday. As of August, there were 23 total alligator attacks since 1915, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday, according to the Charleston County Sheriffs Office. Gator attack:A Florida man thought a 7-foot alligator was dog on long leash. Fatal alligator attacks are rare in the United States, typically occurring about once a year, but the latest was the second in less than a month. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Deputies in South Carolina shot and killed an alligator that fatally attacked a woman on Friday, authorities said. Everybody treats them with a healthy respect. When deputies arrived, the alligator kept surfacing with Covert and going under. May is mating season for alligators in South Carolina, which means alligators are more active this time of the year. My prayers and heart go out to the family as my arms wrap tighter around my kids and dogs near these ponds.. When we got there thats exactly what we found, said Maj. Angela Viens, a public information officer with the Beaufort County sheriffs office. "She was walking her little dog, and the gator grabbed the dog," the neighbor added. A South Carolina woman was attacked by an eight-foot-long alligator while walking her dog on Thursday morning. Last week, an alligator attacked and ate a 40-pound dog that was playing fetch with his owner in Florida's J.R. Alford Greenway Trail. The alligator, a 9-foot, 8-inch male, was later captured, removed from the pond and euthanized, officials said. An alligator lays in the grass in Myrtle Beach, S.C., April 29, 2003. Coverts friend yelled to not get any closer, but Covert continued off the back steps towards to where the alligator was, the report said. 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. Messages left for the department were not immediately returned on Sunday. An 88-year-old woman was killed in an apparent alligator attack in South Carolina on Monday, officials said. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. SCDNR officials have estimated that 100,000 alligators live in South Carolina. It appears the victim, Nancy Becker, was gardening near a pond in Sun City . The following day, a person walking their dog discovered McGuiness' body along the lake's shoreline. The latest was at least the fourth in the United States since May and the second this year in South Carolina. Despite what seems to be increasing frequency, Mazzotti says attacks are still remarkably rare, considering the number of alligators in southeastern U.S. The Florida commission says the chances of a Florida resident being seriously injured in an unprovoked alligator attack are in one in 3.1 million. You have reached your limit of 4 free articles. Fraser actually marketed the Sea Pines Resort using the allure of alligators. The victim was identified as 88-year-old Nancy Becker, ABC News reports. a man was killed looking for Frisbees on May 31 in Florida, another manwas killed near a retention pond in South Carolina on June 24, an 80-year-old Florida woman was killed along a golf course, run-ins with the reptiles near their homes, What to know if you're bitten by a rattlesnake, What should you do if you see a bear? All rights reserved. A woman in South Carolina was killed by an alligator Monday, the state's second deadly attack this year, authorities said.The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office and other emergency services were at . 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. The victim was recovered from the pond, and the alligator was removed and euthanized on site. But dangerous human-gator interactions are starting to happen more frequently because people are moving deeper into alligators habitat, says University of Florida professor Frank Mazzotti. It appears the victim, Nancy Becker, was gardening near the pond and slipped in. Early in the year, when water is cooler, its common to see them on the banks sunning themselves. Why Deadly Alligator Attacks Like South Carolina Are a Growing Trend. 8/16/2022. "I see her," the neighbor said with audible emotion in her voice. Got something youd like to say in response to one of our articles? This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, In 1962, Fraser walked alongside an alligator named Albert for a magazine photoshoot that attracted attention from around the world. Serge was remembered by loved ones as being a "good friend. But, theres a caveat. The area in the Outer Banks is a favorite hangout spot for great white sharks, apparently. Alligators typically breed and look for new habitats inthe spring and summertime, meaning there could be an increase in alligator activity. All Rights Reserved. ', Man Fatally Shot Ex-Girlfriend's Sister After Convincing Her to Pull Over on Road, Then Killed Himself, remembered by loved ones as being a "good friend. A woman killed by an alligator at a South Carolina pond told a friend she wanted to get close to the animal and didn't scream as it attacked her and dragged her into the water, according to a police report. Alligators are found throughout the Southeast and wetlands, with their range stretching as far west as eastern Texas, and as far east as coastal North Carolina, according toThe National Wildlife Federation. They aren't the only run-ins people have had with the creatures. While alligator attacks are rare in South Carolina, they are becoming more common as more humans move to alligator-populated areas. 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