Florida man killed by alligator during swim

MIAMI (Reuters) – A Florida man was attacked and killed by
a 12-foot (3.5-meter) alligator while swimming in a canal in
west Florida, a wildlife official said on Saturday.

Kevin Albert Murray, 41, of North Port, died in the attack
in the Apollo Waterway in Port Charlotte on Friday evening.

“The alligator was captured and killed,” said Gary Morse, a
spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission.

It was the 16th fatal alligator attack in Florida in about
50 years of recordkeeping, Morse said.

Alligators, once an endangered species, number more than 1
million in Florida and come in contact with people more
frequently as the state’s human population grows, he said.

Wildlife officials have recorded an increased number of
attacks this year, in part because heavy rains have filled
canals and other waterways, allowing gators to roam into
neighborhoods.