A 12-year-old girl was injured by a more than 12-foot-long alligator at a lake in North Carolina on Friday, June 13. Other children were also in the water, but are all safe. \u201cShe had a few stitches and, other than that, she\u2019s doing great,\u201d authorities said. Officials confirmed that this was the first such incident in the area\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
On that day, multiple children were playing in Lake Waccamaw, a large freshwater lake, when one of them suddenly screamed, \u201cSomething bit me!\u201d As the children rushed out of the four-foot-deep water, an alligator emerged from the same spot, according to the Lake Waccamaw Police Department. Authorities noted that the injuries were serious but not life-threatening and may have been caused either by a bite or a claw.<\/p>\n
Initially, the alligator was believed to be six to seven feet long, but later measurements showed it was actually over 12 feet in length. \u201cIt\u2019s a monster,\u201d officials said when describing its size. This marks the first recorded alligator attack in Lake Waccamaw\u2019s history, despite the lake being home to around 570 alligators.<\/p>\n
Experts say such attacks are rare, especially during the daytime, and are often linked to alligators that have been fed by humans. Feeding these animals is illegal in most states and can cause them to associate people with food. Authorities advised the public to respect wildlife, keep a safe distance from alligators, and leave the water immediately if one is spotted. READ MORE BELOW<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A 12-year-old girl was injured by a more than 12-foot-long alligator at a lake in North Carolina on Friday, June 13. Other children were also in the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n