SILVER RIVER, FLORIDA, Aug. 13 (Our Florida Times) — Florida wildlife officials and Marion County authorities reopened the Silver River on Sunday, one day after an alligator severely injured a woman swimming near Ocala and the river was temporarily closed while the animal was located and removed.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said an adult woman was bitten on the arm while swimming in the Silver River on Saturday, Aug. 8. Wildlife officers and a contracted nuisance-alligator trapper later captured and removed an alligator measuring 9 feet, 8 inches, according to the FWC and reports citing Marion County officials.
The woman’s family said the injury led to an amputation below the elbow. She was taken to a hospital after the attack and later discharged, according to family accounts reported by FOX 35 Orlando and other outlets.
How the rescue unfolded
Accounts from the woman’s family and witnesses said she was swimming with a group when the alligator approached. She tried to fend it off with a paddle before being pulled underwater, those accounts said.
A nearby boater heard cries for help and moved toward the swimmers. The approaching boat caused the alligator to retreat, according to accounts attributed to the rescuer and witnesses. The boater then used rope from the boat to help control the woman’s bleeding until first responders took over.
The injured woman and other swimmers were taken by boat toward a launch. First responders transported her to a hospital, according to reports based on family and witness accounts.
Reports disagree about the rescuer’s name. Several identify him as John Gamache, while a FOX 35 report identifies the paddleboarder who helped as “Head.” The available accounts do not resolve whether those names refer to the same person.
Why the river was closed
The temporary closure allowed wildlife officials and the contracted trapper to search for the alligator involved in the attack. The animal removed from the river measured nearly 10 feet long.
Marion County officials reopened the river to the public on Sunday after the alligator was removed. The available reports do not identify the treating hospital, provide the formal closure order or explain what safety assessment preceded the reopening.
What the incident does — and does not — show
An alligator attack is a wildlife-management and public-safety event, but this single incident does not establish a change in Florida’s alligator population or a broader environmental trend. The supplied records contain no population assessment, attack-frequency analysis or ecological monitoring data tied to the Silver River.
The FWC’s preliminary account described the incident as an alligator bite involving an adult woman swimming in the river. Other details — including the use of a paddle, the rescue and the rope used to slow the bleeding — came from family members, witnesses or the rescuer as reported by news organizations.
The FWC and Marion County authorities have not been identified in the available accounts as announcing citations, criminal charges or civil proceedings related to the attack.
