OK let me get this straight you think it is cool that you have Alligators living in your pond.
Quote: "They told us when we rented the place that there were alligators in the pond," she said. "We thought that was cool. The whole nature preserve area was why we wanted this spot.
Three men free Sanibel woman attacked by alligator
By JONATHAN FOERSTER, [email protected]
July 22, 2004
A Sanibel woman was in critical condition Wednesday after an alligator attacked her while she was doing landscaping work near a small pond on the island.
Janie Melsek, 54, was trimming a tree near a pond off Poinciana Circle at about 12:40 p.m. when a 12-foot-long alligator bit her arm and began dragging her into the pond, Sanibel police said.
Three men saw the attack and fought with the alligator until police arrived on the scene a few minutes later.
Sanibel Police Chief William Tomlinson said two officers freed Melsek from the alligator and then shot and killed the animal.
Melsek was taken to the trauma center at Lee Memorial Hospital, where she remained Wednesday evening.
Sanibel Police officer Mark Steele was injured while trying to free Melsek. He went to HealthPark Medical Center, where he received stitches and was released, Tomlinson said.
This was the second alligator attack on Sanibel this year.
Jane B. Keefer, 70, was bitten and dragged into a pond on April 21 by a 10-foot-long alligator. She fought the animal off and, with the help of her husband, William, was able to hold off another attack by it. That animal also was destroyed.
The house, 3061 Poinciana Circle, is owned by Dale Singer, but is rented to tourists.
Susan Brackman, 48, of Tampa, is renting the house for the week with her husband and 7-year-old son. She said the family left for the beach on Captiva at about noon Wednesday, before Melsek, a self-employed landscaper, arrived.
When they returned around 2 p.m., she was surprised to see the yard filled with law enforcement vehicles.
"They told us when we rented the place that there were alligators in the pond," she said. "We thought that was cool. The whole nature preserve area was why we wanted this spot.
"Now, it's a little freaky. A lot freaky, actually. You hear about this stuff happening, but you never think about it being close to you."
Brackman said she had seen several alligators in the pond, including a "gigantic gator" she believed to be the culprit.
Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission retrieved the alligator Wednesday evening and took the carcass to Lakeland for examination.
Fish and Wildlife Commission spokesman Gary Morse said such attacks seldom occur, even though Florida has hundreds of thousands of alligators.
"Alligator attacks on people are relatively rare," Morse said. "There have been 13 fatal attacks in the last 56 years."
Sanibel, however, has recorded at least three attacks, one fatal, since 2001.
Morse wouldn't comment on the likelihood of future attacks on the resort island or any recent attack patterns, but he did recognize Sanibel's alligator encounters over the past few years.
"Certainly there are an unusual number of attacks for an area that size," Morse said.
Don Van Alstyne, a 62-year-old Sanibel resident who knows Melsek, said seeing an alligator on the island isn't uncommon.
"You see them frequently out on Sanibel," he said. "They're usually on the water."
There are several precautions Florida residents and visitors can take to help avoid unwanted alligator encounters.
Feeding most wildlife is illegal in Florida, and providing food to alligators or any animal near the water's edge is frowned upon by the state.
Alligators are typically more active during dawn and dusk hours and tend to hide along heavily vegetated shorelines.
Children and pets should not be allowed near the water in known alligator habitat.
Neighbor Christine Celestino, 39, said she makes sure her 7-year-old son stays away from the ponds along the road. "You know you have to be on the lookout," she said. "It's part of living out here. We have rules that he doesn't go down there and stays in the yard or on the road."
Quote: "They told us when we rented the place that there were alligators in the pond," she said. "We thought that was cool. The whole nature preserve area was why we wanted this spot.
Three men free Sanibel woman attacked by alligator
By JONATHAN FOERSTER, [email protected]
July 22, 2004
A Sanibel woman was in critical condition Wednesday after an alligator attacked her while she was doing landscaping work near a small pond on the island.
Janie Melsek, 54, was trimming a tree near a pond off Poinciana Circle at about 12:40 p.m. when a 12-foot-long alligator bit her arm and began dragging her into the pond, Sanibel police said.
Three men saw the attack and fought with the alligator until police arrived on the scene a few minutes later.
Sanibel Police Chief William Tomlinson said two officers freed Melsek from the alligator and then shot and killed the animal.
Melsek was taken to the trauma center at Lee Memorial Hospital, where she remained Wednesday evening.
Sanibel Police officer Mark Steele was injured while trying to free Melsek. He went to HealthPark Medical Center, where he received stitches and was released, Tomlinson said.
This was the second alligator attack on Sanibel this year.
Jane B. Keefer, 70, was bitten and dragged into a pond on April 21 by a 10-foot-long alligator. She fought the animal off and, with the help of her husband, William, was able to hold off another attack by it. That animal also was destroyed.
The house, 3061 Poinciana Circle, is owned by Dale Singer, but is rented to tourists.
Susan Brackman, 48, of Tampa, is renting the house for the week with her husband and 7-year-old son. She said the family left for the beach on Captiva at about noon Wednesday, before Melsek, a self-employed landscaper, arrived.
When they returned around 2 p.m., she was surprised to see the yard filled with law enforcement vehicles.
"They told us when we rented the place that there were alligators in the pond," she said. "We thought that was cool. The whole nature preserve area was why we wanted this spot.
"Now, it's a little freaky. A lot freaky, actually. You hear about this stuff happening, but you never think about it being close to you."
Brackman said she had seen several alligators in the pond, including a "gigantic gator" she believed to be the culprit.
Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission retrieved the alligator Wednesday evening and took the carcass to Lakeland for examination.
Fish and Wildlife Commission spokesman Gary Morse said such attacks seldom occur, even though Florida has hundreds of thousands of alligators.
"Alligator attacks on people are relatively rare," Morse said. "There have been 13 fatal attacks in the last 56 years."
Sanibel, however, has recorded at least three attacks, one fatal, since 2001.
Morse wouldn't comment on the likelihood of future attacks on the resort island or any recent attack patterns, but he did recognize Sanibel's alligator encounters over the past few years.
"Certainly there are an unusual number of attacks for an area that size," Morse said.
Don Van Alstyne, a 62-year-old Sanibel resident who knows Melsek, said seeing an alligator on the island isn't uncommon.
"You see them frequently out on Sanibel," he said. "They're usually on the water."
There are several precautions Florida residents and visitors can take to help avoid unwanted alligator encounters.
Feeding most wildlife is illegal in Florida, and providing food to alligators or any animal near the water's edge is frowned upon by the state.
Alligators are typically more active during dawn and dusk hours and tend to hide along heavily vegetated shorelines.
Children and pets should not be allowed near the water in known alligator habitat.
Neighbor Christine Celestino, 39, said she makes sure her 7-year-old son stays away from the ponds along the road. "You know you have to be on the lookout," she said. "It's part of living out here. We have rules that he doesn't go down there and stays in the yard or on the road."
