Alligator rips off woman's arm in Florida canal

Authorities say an alligator ripped off an elderly woman's arm in a Florida canal.

 

   Joy Hill, a spokeswoman with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, says the woman was in critical condition.

 

   The Lake County Sheriff's Office identified the victim as 84-year-old Carol Hough of Leesburg.

 

   Hough's neighbor, Delmas Zickefoose, told the Orlando Sentinel that he saw Hough flailing in the 4-foot-deep canal that runs behind their mobile homes. 

 

   It wasn't clear how Hough ended up in the water.

 

   The alligator will be killed so authorities can perform a necropsy, which is common procedure to make sure the animal won't attack again.

 

   And the attacks aren't uncommon: a teenager lost part of his arm to a gator in July, and an airboat captain lost a hand while feeding one in June.