Overview

• On March 3, 64-year-old Christiane Salvador was attacked by a female alligator on Tiger Creek in Polk County during a guided outing with 20 paddlers.
• Witnesses say the gator flipped her kayak and clamped her elbow in its jaws, inflicting a severe, near-severing injury that required emergency extraction.
• A fellow kayaker freed Salvador by poking the animal’s eyes, prompting it to release her and swim away clutching his life vest.
• State wildlife officials tracked, captured, and euthanized the more than eight-foot-long gator believed to be defending her hatchlings.
• Medical teams at Osceola Regional Hospital have ruled out amputation and expect Salvador to regain arm function after her reconstructive procedures and therapy.