Slain gator was killer, officials confirm

OCALA NATIONAL FOREST -- (AP) --

Wildlife officials confirmed Friday that an alligator they had captured and killed last week is the one that fatally attacked a Tennessee woman while she was snorkeling in a secluded recreation area.

Trappers caught the 11-foot-4-inch, 407-pound alligator last Thursday in Juniper Creek, near Lake George, where Annemarie Campbell of Paris, Tenn., was attacked.

Wildlife officials who performed a necropsy on the alligator last week said the animal bore scratch marks on its snout and a stab wound in its right eyelid, but there was nothing in its stomach.

On Friday, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Joy Hill said their investigations, witness statements and a comparison of the alligator's teeth to marks on Campbell's body confirmed they had the right animal.

The body of 23-year-old Campbell was found sticking out of the alligator's mouth on May 14. Friends beat the reptile until it released Campbell's body. Her death was the third fatal alligator attack in Florida this month.

Gators Kill Two more Women!

SALT SPRINGS, Fla. - An alligator fatally attacked a 23-year-old woman Sunday near Lake George, authorities said.

The woman had been staying at a secluded cabin near a springhead that feeds into the lake, said Marion County Fire-Rescue Capt. Joe Amigliore.
"The people she was staying with came around and found her inside the gator's mouth," Amigliore said. "They jumped into the water and somehow pulled her out of the gator's mouth."

The woman, whose name was not released, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her stepfather, who had tried to help her, was treated on the scene for a hand injury, said Amigliore.

The attack occurred near lakeside recreation 7 miles south of Salt Springs, Amigliore said. Authorities were searching for the alligator Sunday night. Salt Springs is about 40 miles southeast of Gainesville.

Meanwhile, Pinellas County authorities said a woman whose body was found Sunday morning in a canal in an Oldsmar subdivision was likely killed by an alligator.

Judy W. Cooper, 43, Dunedin, was found with animal bites that were consistent with an alligator, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. Why she was in the area, where wildlife officials said alligators are frequently spotted, was not immediately known.

An autopsy determined that an alligator "did play some part in the victim's death," though the cause of death was pending and the medical examiner's final report will not be released for at least four weeks, sheriff's office said. Oldsmar is 20 miles north of St. Petersburg.

In the past week, four women have been attacked by alligators. Three of them were fatally mauled and partially eaten. What's going on? Is it the constant construction into areas that used to be part of the Everglades (or other wilderness swamps?)? Are gators just hunting in places were they used to find deer; but now it is full of people?

Dusty makes a new friend

Time to take Robby home for a visit. Unfortunately, Dusty doesn't know her own strength, and little Robby seems to be getting the squeeze!

Hope springs eternal, and little Robby the Rodent takes one last look up to the heavens, hoping that the hand of a higher power will save him from impending doom.

Killer Alligator Eats Woman

SUNRISE, Fla. - Wildlife officers captured an alligator Saturday they believe was responsible for fatally attacking a woman while she was out jogging.
The 9-foot, 6-inch alligator was trapped just under the bridge where Yovy Suarez Jimenez, 28, was last seen, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Dani Moschella said. Two human arms were found inside the alligator's belly, Moschella said.

Authorities still aren't sure how the alligator attacked Suarez. Witnesses had reported seeing a woman matching Suarez's description dangling her feet over the water's edge on Tuesday, but no one saw an attack.

A medical examiner said the alligator attacked while she was on land and then dragged her body into a canal. Suarez's death is the 18th confirmed fatal alligator attack in Florida since 1948, Moschella said. Nine other deaths are unconfirmed.