In a horrifying series of events, a Florida woman has lost her life to an alligator attack that took place at Lake Kissimmee State Park. The victim, identified as 61-year-old Cynthia Diekema, was paddling in a 14-foot canoe with her husband on Tuesday afternoon when they were attacked. Cynthia was sitting at the canoe’s bow when they passed over an alligator in 2 ½ feet of water near the mouth of Tiger Creek.
The gator, startled by their presence, began to thrash around, causing the victim and her husband to end up in the water. Unfortunately, Cynthia landed on top of the alligator, and it attacked her. Unfortunately, her husband tried unsuccessfully to intervene.
Wildlife officials were called to the scene, and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) launched a thorough investigation into the attack. When speaking on the incident in a press release, the executive director of the FWC, Col. Roger Young, said:
“While alligator attacks resulting in fatalities are extremely rare, this tragedy serves as a somber reminder of the powerful wildlife that share our natural spaces.”
Another FWC official also spoke on the incident, saying that such alligator attacks are “rare.” The official added that the alligator most likely attacked not out of a predatory nature. “This was not believed to be a predatory incident but simply a defensive incident,” the statement read.
Following the accident, nuisance alligator trappers sent to the scene recovered an 11-foot-4-inch alligator matching the description of the creature that attacked the victim. They recovered another alligator measuring 10 to 11 feet long the next day. Wildlife officials confirm that the trappers will continue to trace alligators matching the same description until the one responsible for Cynthia’s death is no longer in the water.
According to ClickOrlando, officials who used a helicopter to survey the area located the victim’s body floating in the water. FWC officials removed her and pronounced her dead on the scene. However, the extent of the victim’s fatal injuries was not disclosed out of respect for the family.
When news of the horrific incident broke on social media, many users pointed out that the victim is to blame for encroaching on the wildlife’s habitat.
One user commented, “We are surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Yet, people go into rivers and springs and are surprised when sh*t like this happens. No sympathy at all. We are in THEIR habitat. They were here long before us and will be here long afterward.”
Another user remarked, “Very sorry for the loss there. But just think, there will be multiple gators killed now just for looking like gator… Just for matching the ‘description.’ And for no fault of theirs.”
This Redditor asked, “The gator thought it was being attacked and reacted. Is it really a ‘nuisance’ gator in this situation?”
Notably, a wildlife official who spoke to 10 Tampa Bay confirmed that another woman was also bitten in the same lake just three months ago.
