Alligator attacks woman on banks of Sawgrass Lake

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Wildlife officials said the alligator was not afraid of humans, possibly because they had been feeding it.

PINELLAS COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- A Clearwater woman is the first person in more than three years to be attacked by an alligator in Pinellas County.

Diane Blackwood, 48, was walking her dog on a leash Monday afternoon at Sawgrass Lake Park in St. Petersburg when she noticed a swirl in the water.

"I was standing under a tree for some shade,' she said. "My dog was near the water when I noticed some swirling water. I knew it was a gator and called for my dog as I turned to run away. That's when I slipped and fell on the embankment. My dog ran away."

• See photos of Blackwood's wounds

The gator missed her on the first lunge, but it was not deterred. It grabbed her on the second lunge.

"As I was trying to crawl away the gator lunged and missed me,' she said. "I thought okay I'm going to get away. Then the gator lunged a second time and bit my calf." 

The reptile also bit Blackwood's hand as she tried to free her calf from its jaws.

"I went for his eyes because I didn't want to play tug of war with my thumb in the gators mouth,' Blackwood said. "And once I got my other hand in its eye socket the gator let go and went back into the water." 

Blackwood then drove herself to the hospital. She said she feels okay, but she is still a little sore from her encounter.

Alligator control agent Charles Carpenter caught that alligator on Thursday.

"Called in the information to the state, and the Fish and Wildlife decided that with this size, he fits the description," Carpenter said.

The alligator is about 6-feet-9, but it is missing 12 inches of his tail, which means it is nearly eight feet long.

• See video of the alligator

Ironically, Blackwood has a Ph.D. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science and her husband just got a job with FWC. The couple moved to Clearwater from Michigan last month.

Blackwood says she was looking at purchasing a house near the park the day she was bitten by the gator.

"What we heard was that this particular gator was about the only one in the lake that was not afraid of humans," Blackwood said. "Which is a pretty good indication that people have been feeding the gators."

Officials with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said they believe the combination of the gator's familiarity with humans and the dog near the water triggered the attack.

Blackwood is the first person to be attacked by a gator in more than three years in Pinellas County. There have been 14 alligator attacks in Pinellas County since 1948.

The last attack, in May 2006, was a deadly one. The body of Judy Cooper, 43, was found in a canal near Oldsmar, three days after she had been attacked by an alligator.

Alligator bites in Bay area (1948-present)

County	#of bites	Most Recent
Citrus	4	May 1999
Hernando	2	July 1993
Hillsborough	11	April 2008
Manatee	5	January 2005
Pasco	11	February 2007
Pinellas	14	May 2006
Polk	24	August 2007

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