A Marion County woman is recovering at home after a Saturday afternoon swim at Silver River turned into a fight for her life. The alligator attack cost her right arm, but according to her family, she is already in good spirits and grateful to be alive. That gratitude has a name attached to it: John Gamache, the boater who happened to be eating lunch nearby and ended up playing a major role in getting her to safety.
The attack happened while the woman and a group of swimmers were enjoying the springs, which are known for their glass-clear water. That clarity is usually a selling point for Silver River. On this day, it meant Gamache could see trouble coming from a couple hundred feet away, in the form of a nine-foot-eight-inch alligator moving fast toward the swimmers.
Family members told Fox 35 the woman tried to fend off the alligator with a paddle before it grabbed her arm and pulled her under. By the time Gamache reached the group, the alligator had let go, and the noise of his boat seemed to be enough to send it packing. What he found next was not pretty. He described bones exposed and heavy bleeding, and he did not hesitate. He used a rope from his boat as a makeshift tourniquet, then loaded the injured woman along with the other swimmers and kids onto his boat and raced for the nearest launch.
By Sunday, the woman was already discharged from the hospital and resting at home. Her family reached out to Gamache personally to thank him, and by his own account, the conversation was an emotional one. Losing a limb is a devastating thing to go through, but everyone involved seems to recognize how much worse this story could have ended.
A River With a Track Record This Summer
This is not an isolated incident, reported Fox 35 Orlando. It is actually the fourth alligator attack reported in Central Florida so far this year. Back in June, three people were bitten within a single week, including one fatal attack at Little Big Econ State Park. An 11-year-old boy fishing in Lake County also lost part of his hand to a gator earlier this summer.
Florida’s waterways have always had alligators in them; that part is nothing new, but this year has been an unusually active one for run-ins between people and reptiles that would generally rather be left alone.
Wildlife officers and a contracted trapper searched the area and located the responsible alligator on Sunday, removing the nine-foot-eight-inch animal from the river. Silver River had been temporarily closed while that search was underway, and it has since reopened to the public.
Watch For Gators
Gamache is being called a hero, and that is fair, since his quick thinking with that rope likely made a real difference. But there is also something worth saying plainly here.
Alligators are not a rare surprise in Florida’s rivers and springs, they are simply part of living there. Nobody should stop enjoying Florida’s natural beauty out of fear, but a little healthy respect for what shares the water goes a long way.
If you see something moving fast toward you in gator country, that is not the moment to grab a paddle and negotiate.