UPDATE: 8-Foot Alligator Captured After Attacking Woman Swimming in Port St. John Lake

By  //  May 26, 2019

Brevard Fire Rescue units E29, R29, D20 and F1 were on scene, along with Health First First Flight

Brevard County Fire Rescue reported that a Trauma Alert was issued around 3:15 p.m. Saturday afternoon after a woman was bitten by an alligator in the area west of Fay Lake Wilderness Park. The victim was flown to a trauma center by a Health First First Flight helicopter. (BCFR image)

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA **UPDATE: Florida Fish and Wildlife officials say the alligator that bit a Melbourne woman who was swimming in a Port St. John lake on Saturday has been captured.

The victim, 26-year-old Nichole Tilman, suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Officials say the alligator is measured around 8-feet six inches long and was captured in a pond three miles west of Fay Lake Wilderness Park in Port St. John.

Brevard County Fire Rescue reported that a Trauma Alert was issued around 3:15 p.m. Saturday afternoon after a woman was bitten by an alligator in the area west of Fay Lake Wilderness Park.

Brevard County Fire Rescue units E29, R29, D20 and F1 were on the scene, along with Health First First Flight.

Brevard County Fire Rescue officials said that the Trauma Alert was issued as a result of “significant bite injuries.”

The victim was flown to a trauma center by a Health First First Flight helicopter.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is on the scene and conducting an investigation into the circumstances of the attack.

Florida alligator bite statistics date back to 1948, ranging around three major bites per year. The chance of someone being attacked is one in 3.2 million.

The worst years for fatalities were 2001 and 2006, with three people dying each of those years from Florida alligator attacks. And there have only been 23 fatalities between 1948 and 2016.

There have even been stretches during which no fatal attacks by alligators occurred in Florida.

STAY TUNED TO SPACE COAST DAILY FOR UPDATES

Florida alligator bite statistics date back to 1948, ranging around three major bites per year. The chance of someone being attacked is one in 3.2 million. The worst years for fatalities were 2001 and 2006, with three people dying each of those years from Florida alligator attacks. And there have only been 23 fatalities between 1948 and 2016. There have even been stretches during which no fatal attacks by alligators occurred in Florida. (FWC image)
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