Dina Spann, 58, was attacked Saturday while floating in the Silver River in Marion County.Her son, Zach Guerrina, told the New York Post that he believes people feeding, touching and otherwise getting too close to alligators are causing them to lose their natural fear of humans.CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE FROM OUTKICK"Growing up in Florida, that has never been a thing.
I’m in the water all the time and I’ve never had a gator want to approach," Guerrina said."We’ve got a lot of tourists down here and a lot of people that’s moved to Florida that’s never seen an alligator before."There’s literally videos of people petting alligators.
When you do that, these things lose fear of humans and if it gets close enough to you, it’s gonna bite you."The Crocodilian Biology and Management Course at the St.Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park in northeast Florida offers in-depth training to zoo and aquarium staff on safely managing crocodilians, ensuring the survival of endangered species in human care.
(USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)Guerrina said he has been visiting the Silver River since childhood and his family has floated there "hundreds of times" without incident.Since his mother's attack, however, he said he has been made aware of TikTok videos showing visitors getting dangerously close to alligators while kayaking on the river."It’s going to happen again out there, because if they’re feeding them like that, they’re going to come up to you," he said.Spann was swimming in a prohibited area when the alligator attacked.
The animal grabbed her right arm and pulled her underwater after she attempted to fend it off with a paddle.Nearby boater John Gamache was eating lunch with his father when he heard the commotion and raced toward the swimmers."I looked just upriver from us a couple hundred feet and saw an alligator head way above the water and going full speed towards the swimmers," Gamache previously told Fox 35 Orlando.A woman kayaks on a ...