Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Authorities say an alligator ripped off an elderly woman's arm in a Florida canal.

Joy Hill, a spokeswoman with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, says the woman was in critical condition.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office identified the victim as 84-year-old Carol Hough of Leesburg.

Hough's neighbor, Delmas Zickefoose, told the Orlando Sentinel that he saw Hough flailing in the 4-foot-deep canal that runs behind their mobile homes.

It wasn't clear how Hough ended up in the water.

The alligator will be killed so authorities can perform a necropsy, which is common procedure to make sure the animal won't attack again.

And the attacks aren't uncommon: a teenager lost part of his arm to a gator in July, and an airboat captain lost a hand while feeding one in June.