A woman almost had her arm ripped off by an alligator after it attacked 20 kayakers, with one man aiming for the animal's eyes in an effort to fight it off.
The chaos erupted on March 3 as a group of 20 kayakers made their way down a canal in Polk County, according to a newly released report by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, as cited by 7News Miami, ABC17news, and KSNB Local 4.
Among the group was 64-year-old Christiane Salvador, who was kayaking alongside her husband Philip when she suddenly sensed something brush against her paddle near the area known as Tiger Creek.
Moments later, her kayak flipped, and she was thrown into the water.
“There’s an alligator on my arm,” Christiane reportedly screamed, desperately trying to keep her head above the surface as the predator clamped down.
Her husband sprang into action, managing to hoist her onto their overturned kayak. But her arm was still trapped underwater in the gator’s grip.
As panic spread through the group, another kayaker arrived to assist — only to become the gator’s next target.
According to the report, the reptile bit into the man’s lifejacket and dragged him under.
But in a moment of sheer bravery, the unnamed hero jabbed his fingers into the alligator’s eyes and then stripped off his vest. The reptile swam away, dragging the lifejacket with it.
The alligator — reportedly over 8 feet long — was eventually captured and euthanized, according to officials.
Christiane Salvador was airlifted to Osceola Regional Hospital, where doctors began treating her devastating arm injury. She is expected to undergo multiple reconstructive surgeries.
Wildlife experts believe the attack may have been a case of maternal defense. Reptile expert Kim Titterington told 7News Miami that the alligator was likely a female protecting her young.
“If you walk out back, and you’re sitting in your lawn chair, and all of a sudden a parade of 20 people just walk through your backyard, you are going to feel like you need to defend your space,” Titterington explained.
“When a female has her babies, they are very defensive, high protection, because they have to protect their babies from other male gators as well.”
Officials have not released further details on the ongoing investigation.
According to the FWC (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission), there have been, on average, eight unprovoked alligator attacks per year over the last 10 years.
While Florida has a large alligator population (around 1.3 million), the probability of a Florida resident being seriously injured in an unprovoked alligator incident is roughly 1 in 3.1 million.