Not all recent animal encounters have a happy ending

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — As animals come out of the wild and get closer to urban areas all over the world, not all of these encounters have a happy ending.

In Kiawah Island, South Carolina, a woman was killed by an alligator at a pond, according to a police report.

Cynthia Covert, 58, died in the attack that took place on Friday May 1st, on Kiawah Island, Charleston County, SC, deputies said.

A deputy had to shoot and kill the alligator to get Covert’s body away from the animal, according to the police report released Monday May 4th.

The woman got too close to the alligator, which lunged and grabbed her in its mouth when she was about 4 feet (1.2 meters) away from it, deputies said.

Covert, of Johns Island, made no sound as the alligator pulled her under, a witness told police.

The woman’s husband and another man tried beating the alligator with shovels, but the animal swam deeper into the pond, the police report said.

When deputies arrived, the alligator kept surfacing with Covert and going under. One officer was able to shoot the animal as it surfaced again, police said.

Covert resurfaced a short distance away from the attack site and emergency personnel were able to remove her from the water. She was unresponsive at the scene. Unfortunately, she died at the hospital, authorities said.

An autopsy Monday found Covert died of drowning, the Charleston County Coroner’s Office said.

Source: WLTX 19 NEWS KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C