Woman Dies After Being Mauled by Alligator
Janie Melsek, 54, was attacked Wednesday by the alligator as she
worked on landscaping behind a home on Sanibel Island, just off the
Florida coast in the Gulf of Mexico. After the animal pulled her
into the water, a neighbor and police officers engaged in a fierce
``tug-of-war'' to pull her from the reptile's jaws.
Melsek died in surgery at Lee Memorial Hospital to treat an
infection caused by the reptile's vicious bites. Doctors said her
body simply shut down in response to the infection.
``My mom showed more courage than fear and I could not be more
proud of her,'' said Melsek's daughter, Joy Williams, 29. ``She's
just absolutely amazed me and our whole community with the fight
she put up.''
Police killed the 457-pound alligator, which required six men to
lift it to shore.
She was the 14th person known to have been fatally attacked by a
Florida alligator since record keeping began.
Florida's alligator population had once dwindled to the point
that the reptile was placed on the federal list of endangered
species.
They have since rebounded to perhaps a million or more across
the entire state, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission. They can now be killed during seasonal
hunts conducted by the commission.
On the Net:
07/23/04 19:59
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