Alligator kills Florida man, 81; attacks on the rise as people move into gator territory

SANIBEL, Fla. — A man walking his dog along a canal on a southwest Florida island died after an 11-foot alligator attacked him and severed his leg.

It was at least the third fatal alligator attack in Florida this year. Before that, the most recent fatal alligator attack on humans was in 1997, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Robert Steele, 81, was walking his terrier about 4:15 p.m. Tuesday on a path less than 200 feet from his house. A yellow sign just off his driveway announced "Alligator Xing" on a pathway into the wooded area.

Police said the alligator likely went after the dog and Steele tried to fend it off.

Steele's wife, Ellen Steele, 81, said she heard her husband screaming and thought he was drowning.

She pulled him onto the canal bank and then called 911.

"I had no idea it was an alligator," Ellen Steele said. "His legs were still in the water and there was no blood. We live among alligators; we protect them. They have never attacked us before."

Robert Steele's right leg was missing below his knee. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Trappers found the culprit quickly.

"We saw it surface on the other bank with the leg in his mouth," said Sanibel police Cmdr. Bill Tomlinson, gesturing toward the 300-pound alligator that three wildlife officers cornered and shot. "It was pretty skittish because it had what it wanted."

Incidents of alligators snapping at humans and killing pets are on the rise across Florida as people move into areas once considered alligator territory.

People's proximity to wildlife and food the animals perceive as prey may have contributed to the attack, wildlife Capt. Denis Grealish said.

Alligators killed a Winter Haven 2-year-old in June and a Venice man in May.

"The gator becomes conditioned to humans, and they aren't perceived as threats until it's too late," Grealish said.