Alligator bites hiker on arm and leg before she can escape, FL officials say

A hiker in southwest Florida was attacked by an alligator, leaving her with multiple injuries, according to state wildlife officials.

It happened Sunday, Aug. 17, in Collier County and details of the woman’s condition have not been released. She was walking the Bird Rookery Swamp Trail at the time, the Naples Daily News reports.

“The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) received a report of a woman who was bitten on the leg and arm, the FWC told McClatchy News in an email. “The victim was transported to a nearby hospital.”

“The FWC responded to the scene, and a contracted nuisance alligator trapper has been dispatched,” officials said.

Details of how the woman came into contact with the alligator were not released.

The Bird Rookery Swamp Trail has 12-miles of hiking and biking trails and is considered “Grade-A alligator habitat,” according to the nonprofit Crew Land & Water Trust.

“For first-time visitors, seeing an alligator seems thrilling and exciting until they almost step on one along the tram/trail or have the unfortunate luck to have their path blocked by a sunning gator,” the trust reports.

“It’s like an alligator gated community. Some of the neighbors keep to themselves, some live in the way back where it’s pretty private, and others like to walk around.”

State officials have not said whether the alligator had been captured as of Monday, Aug. 18.

Collier County is about a 95-mile drive west from Miami, on the state’s Gulf Coast.

This article by Mark Price was first published by Miami Herald on 18 August 2025. Lead Image: A woman hiking in southwest Florida was bitten on the arm and leg by an alligator, state officials say. It was captured and killed, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says. This is not the same alligator. Andy Wraithmell.