New details about a terrifying alligator attack on a group of kayakers in Florida suggest that a man’s brave attempt to stop the gator likely saved a woman’s life (and his own). The man reportedly gouged the alligator’s eyes out to get it to leave him and his group alone.
Videos by Outdoors
Local WSVN News details a report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, saying the incident from early March involved a group of 20 kayakers who were enjoying a day of recreation in a Polk County, Florida canal. An alligator attacked Christiane Salvador, 64, from Texas while she was in her kayak. The animal bumped her paddle, then tipped her boat and grabbed ahold of her arm at her elbow.
[RELATED: ‘Don’t. Freak. Out.’ Alligator Launches Toward Paddle Boarders]
Salvador’s husband tried to pull her back out of the water, but the alligator wouldn’t let her go. That’s when a Good Samaritan stepped in to help. The animal grabbed him too, but he gouged the alligator’s eyes with his fingers and unsnapped himself from his life vest, which was in the gator’s mouth.
WSNV says that the report includes images of Salvador’s mangled arm. However, the outlet says doctors don’t believe they’ll need to amputate her limb.
“Alligator hunters did kill the gator responsible for the attack,” adds WSVN.
Header stock image by Erik De Sousa/Getty Images
