Researcher Attacked And Bitten By Alligator

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (LA)
Researcher Attacked And Bitten By Alligator

On the afternoon of July 28th, park employees responded to a frantic call for help from a 29-year-old Louisiana State University researcher who had been bitten by an alligator while taking soil samples along the Barataria visitor center trail. Natural resource manager Dusty Pate arrived on scene within a minute of receiving the call and was soon joined by protection ranger Mike Callais, who began emergency first aid to stop the bleeding and secure the wounded hand. The researcher, who was operating under a grant from the George Wright Foundation to study climate effects on the Barataria Preserve, had been attacked by a seven-foot alligator while collecting samples from the water adjacent to the boardwalk. The researcher advised that she had been working along the boardwalk when she spotted an alligator watching her from a little over 200 yards away, but that she had lost sight of the reptile while walking down the boardwalk. Callais and Pate began immediate emergency first aid to her right hand, which was suffering from severe bite and tear wounds as well as an open compound fracture. As soon as EMS transported her to the local hospital, the park immediately closed park trails and boardwalks in the area of the attack. Additional personnel were called in to locate the alligator. After a short time, a seven-foot, 250-pound alligator was located very close to the area where the attack occurred. Due to public safety concerns, the alligator was killed. A thorough investigation into the incident revealed that the alligator had most likely been the victim of repeated illegal human interaction involving human food and had been "following" the researcher in hopes of obtaining a handout. The researcher had no idea that the alligator was underneath the boardwalk, which stands about 18 inches above the water. When she kneeled down on the walkway to lean over and retrieve a plastic tube that had been inserted into the water and soil below her, the alligator came from behind and underneath her and grabbed onto her right hand, which was in the water. The alligator immediately began to rotate while clamped down on her. The 100-pound researcher was able to free her hand from the gator’s mouth, though, and then call for help. Due to the severity of the bite, she was later transported from the local hospital to the University Hospital in New Orleans, where she underwent treatment for the wounds. She is scheduled to undergo surgery in the near future. The park’s superintendent has ordered a stand down of all park activity that involves the potential for interaction with alligators until such time that an updated job hazard analysis has been conducted and properly reviewed by park staff.