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Terrifying new footage of a fatal alligator attack on an 85-year-old woman shows the beast silently stalked her and her dog for more than 100 feet before timing its attack.
The video shows the moment the alligator comes out of the water and pounces on the woman’s dog.
The attack unfolded in front of a neighbor who frantically called 911 while trying to help the woman.
Gloria Serge, 85, died after she was mauled to death by a 10-foot alligator as she tried to rescue her beloved dog, Trooper, from the reptile’s clutches on Monday.
Serge’s cub survived the attack, but the alligator was later captured and euthanized.
Gloria Serge, 85, was walking her dog by the lake in the Spanish Lakes Fairways community in Fort Pierce, Florida on Monday when an alligator attacked her and dragged her into the water.
Serge (pictured) was a grandmother living in the Spanish Lakes Fairways retirement community in Fort Pierce, Florida, when she was killed by an alligator on Monday.
Serge’s final moments were captured on a wildlife camera at the Spanish Lakes Fairways retirement community in Fort Pierce, Florida.
She can be seen walking across the lake with her dog as the alligator surfaces, then lunges at the couple.
Serge tried to pull the dog away from the alligator’s jaws, but the alligator grabbed her and could be seen dragging her into the lake.
Her frightened neighbor Carole Thomas, 76, told Inside Edition that she tried to help the woman while on the phone with 911.
There is a woman in the lake. The alligator has it!
As the call progressed, the neighbor became more distraught when she did not see the woman surface.
“I think he’s gone, my God,” Thomas yells into the phone.
Her frightened neighbor, Carole Thomas, 76, told Inside Edition that she tried to help the woman while on the phone with 911. She handed the woman a pole, but it was too late.
Video released later shows Serge trying to pull her dog away from the alligator’s jaws, but the alligator grabbed her and could be seen dragging her into the lake.
The horrifying nightmare captured on video unfolded in front of a neighbor who frantically called 911 while trying to help the woman. But it was too late
Officials later managed to drag the alligator, with its muzzle closed by a rope, through the grass and put it in a truck.
Thomas said he reached for a pole to try to get the woman ashore, but said: “There’s no way I could have reached her sooner.”
“It’s horrible for his family,” Thomas added. ‘It’s just horrible, horrible. And his friends, yesterday I spoke to a couple of his friends who are devastated.
His body was later recovered from the lake.
Local residents told Inside Edition that the alligator was a neighborhood fixture they called Henry. He was captured and euthanized after the attack.
Florida authorities are warning residents not to walk their pets near the ponds of the area’s lakes.
Serge is the third victim to be killed by an alligator in Florida since last July.
Wildlife experts found the alligator at the bottom of the pond and dragged it out of the water, and an officer was seen sitting on top of the reptile.
Officials later managed to drag the alligator (pictured), with its muzzle closed by a rope, through the grass and put it in a truck.
Another elderly woman was killed by two alligators after falling into a pond near her home at Boca Royale Golf and Country Club in Englewood in July 2022.
The woman, whose identity is unknown, was struggling to stay afloat when two alligators were seen swimming towards her. They then grabbed her before she could get away from her and killed her.
In May 2022, the body of 47-year-old Sean Thomas McGuinness was found missing three limbs in the lake at John S Taylor Park in Largo, Florida.
Investigators now believe it had entered the 53-acre freshwater lake looking for UFOs when it was attacked. The park is home to an 18-hole disc golf course, with five holes adjacent to the lake, according to the Miami Herald.
Authorities noted that park management had reported that ‘McGuinness was known to frequent the park and enter the lake without regard for ‘No Swimming’ signs.
“A witness also informed detectives that McGuinness was known to sell records to people within the park, and McGuinness was found within a few feet of a record in the water.”
Florida has a population of 1.3 million alligators in its 67 counties, and they can be found in virtually all freshwater bodies and occasionally saltwater.
But the number of cases of people being attacked by alligators in the state is small.
From 1948 through 2021, 442 unprovoked bite incidents occurred in Florida, 26 of which resulted in human deaths.
Over the past ten years, Florida has averaged eight unprovoked bites per year that are severe enough to require professional medical treatment, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says on its website.
“The chance that a Floridian will be seriously injured during an unprovoked alligator incident in Florida is only about one in 3.1 million,” he said.
Following yesterday’s attack, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said, “Serious injuries from alligators are rare in Florida.”
‘The FWC places the highest priority on public safety and administers a State Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP) to address complaints about specific alligators believed to pose a threat to people, pets or property.
“People concerned about an alligator should call the FWC’s toll-free nuisance alligator hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286).
“When someone concerned about an alligator calls the nuisance alligator hotline, we will send one of our contracted nuisance alligator hunters to resolve the situation.”