85-year-old woman mauled to death by a 10-foot alligator as she tried to rescue her dog in Florida

A 10-foot alligator mauled an 85-year-old woman to death as she attempted to rescue her dog near a pond in Florida, gistpeople reports 

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The unnamed pensioner was walking her dog by the pond at the Spanish Lakes Fairways community in Fort Pierce on Monday, February 20, when the 700lb alligator leapt from the water and grabbed the canine.

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According to an eyewitness, the woman was attempting to free the dog from the alligator’s jaws when the 700lb reptile attacked her and dragged her into the pond.

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Officials later recovered the victim’s body, and her dog is being treated for injuries.

They eventually managed to drag the alligator across the grass and into a truck.

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“I caught [the alligator] on the bottom. He never reappeared. He remained seated the entire time. ‘We got a second hook in him and then a hard line in him so we could get him up,’ said Robert Lilly, an FWC alligator trapper.

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Lilly said it was ‘definitely a fight’ as the alligator weighed around 700lb.

Since last July, an alligator has killed three people in Florida, including the pensioner.