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THE MORNING REPORT
Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (LA)
Researcher Attacked And Bitten By Alligator

On the afternoon of July 28th, park employees responded to a frantic call for
help from a 29-year-old Louisiana State University researcher who had been
bitten by an alligator while taking soil samples along the Barataria visitor
center trail. Natural resource manager Dusty Pate arrived on scene within a
minute of receiving the call and was soon joined by protection ranger Mike
Callais, who began emergency first aid to stop the bleeding and secure the
wounded hand. The researcher, who was operating under a grant from the George
Wright Foundation to study climate effects on the Barataria Preserve, had been
attacked by a seven-foot alligator while collecting samples from the water
adjacent to the boardwalk. The researcher advised that she had been working
along the boardwalk when she spotted an alligator watching her from a little
over 200 yards away, but that she had lost sight of the reptile while walking
down the boardwalk. Callais and Pate began immediate emergency first aid to her
right hand, which was suffering from severe bite and tear wounds as well as an
open compound fracture. As soon as EMS transported her to the local hospital,
the park immediately closed park trails and boardwalks in the area of the
attack. Additional personnel were called in to locate the alligator. After a
short time, a seven-foot, 250-pound alligator was located very close to the area
where the attack occurred. Due to public safety concerns, the alligator was
killed. A thorough investigation into the incident revealed that the alligator
had most likely been the victim of repeated illegal human interaction involving
human food and had been "following" the researcher in hopes of obtaining a
handout. The researcher had no idea that the alligator was underneath the
boardwalk, which stands about 18 inches above the water. When she kneeled down
on the walkway to lean over and retrieve a plastic tube that had been inserted
into the water and soil below her, the alligator came from behind and underneath
her and grabbed onto her right hand, which was in the water. The alligator
immediately began to rotate while clamped down on her. The 100-pound researcher
was able to free her hand from the gator’s mouth, though, and then call for
help. Due to the severity of the bite, she was later transported from the local
hospital to the University Hospital in New Orleans, where she underwent
treatment for the wounds. She is scheduled to undergo surgery in the near
future. The park’s superintendent has ordered a stand down of all park activity
that involves the potential for interaction with alligators until such time that
an updated job hazard analysis has been conducted and properly reviewed by park
staff. [Submitted by John Hughes, Chief Ranger]