More details have been released on the woman who was killed by an alligator while canoeing on Lake Kissimmee in May.
According to a new report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Cynthia Diekama of Paw Paw, Michigan, was in the boat in Polk County with her husband, David Diekama, when they accidentally passed over the back of an 11-foot alligator.
The alligator thrashed and knocked the couple, both 61, out into the 2½-foot-deep water at the mouth of Tiger Creek, KETV.com reported.
“The victim was immediately bitten on the torso,” the report said, despite her husband’s efforts to save her. The creature then performed a “death roll,” a spinning move that pulls its prey under water, before swimming off with the woman.
Her body was later recovered by FWC officers, the report said. Nuisance alligator trappers responded to the scene recovered an 11-foot, four-inch alligator matching the description of the alligator involved in the incident.
The report comes after the FWC partnered with state fish and wildlife agencies from 10 other states to launch a new website, GatorWise, to educate residents on the importance and the dangers of alligators and how to coexist safely.
How often do alligator attacks occur in Florida?
While gator attacks aren’t uncommon in Florida, deaths from them are, even though alligators are present in every county in the state. The FWC says the chances of a Florida resident being seriously injured in an unprovoked alligator attack are one in 3.1 million.
Since the state started tracking alligator bites on people in 1948, as of the end of 2024 there have been 487 unprovoked bites from wild alligators, according to FWC data. Of those, 339 were major bites and 27 were fatal.
What is GatorWise?
“Educate. Respect. Coexist.”
GatorWise is an educational website designed to “promote realistic public perceptions about alligators and assist the public in taking appropriate actions to minimize conflict.”
The simple site offers easy-to-understand tips and some basic information about the reptiles and where they live.
Where do alligators live?
Alligators live in the southeastern United States, in any water body within their range. Along with Florida, gators have been spotted in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
According to the FWC, Lake Kissimmee has the second-highest number of alligators in the state. Diekama’s death in May was the second time in two months that an alligator attacked someone in that area. On March 3, a woman was bitten on the elbow on the same creek, which connects Tiger Lake and Lake Kissimmee.
What do I do if I see an alligator?
If you encounter an alligator you think will be a threat to people, pets or property, call the FWC’s Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 1‐866‐FWC‐GATOR (392‐4286) or visit myfwc.com.
The FWC’s Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP) uses contracted nuisance alligator trappers throughout the state to remove alligators 4 feet in length or greater that are believed to pose a threat. Up to 15,000 gators were taken from the wild in the last year, FWC spokesman Bradley Johnson said, and the allotment for the statewide alligator hunt was increased by 1,000 in 2025.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Florida alligator attack kills woman: New details released, FWC awareness website launched
Reporting by C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Florida Today
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
