Child makes miraculous escape from jaws of giant Florida alligator after entering ‘no swim zone’

Child makes miraculous escape from jaws of giant Florida alligator after entering ‘no swim zone’ A terrified child survived with minor injuries after coming face-to-face with an alligator in Florida, weeks after a woman was ripped to pieces by one of the giant beasts A child has managed to survive an alligator attack after being grabbed while swimming in a restricted nature reserve. The incident, at the Weeki Wachee Preserve in Spring Hill, Florida, saw the youngster released from hospital hours later after sustaining minor injuries. The victim, who has not yet been identified, sustained puncture wounds to the leg and the arm from the 12-foot long creature. The terrified child, along with several others, became stranded on a sandbar after the attack. The group were returned to the mainland after being rescued, before being taken to Bayonet Point Hospital for further treatment. An alligator trapper then laid traps in the area to try and catch the beast. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating after they ventured into a 'no swim' area on Monday afternoon. The state is home to around 1.3 million alligators and Christopher Gillette, the owner of Bellowing Acres Animal Sanctuary in Interlachen, told Fox News Digital that people must only swim in designated areas - or they could meet the reptile's jaws. "That's really kind of the root of the issue here: You're swimming in the no-swimming zone," Gillette told the channel. "We're very fortunate that the kid did survive. If you're going to go swimming, only go swimming in designated swimming zones where we know there are not alligators." He added: "The three biggest problems that we run into are people swimming in alligator habitats, people feeding the alligators, or having kids and pets near the water's edge. My advice is don't end up there in the first place. It's incredibly dangerous even for someone who knows what they're doing." Despite the huge numbers of the beasts, Florida averages about eight unprovoked alligator bites per year that require professional medical treatment Out of those 500 total bites in almost 50 years, 32 resulted in deaths - averaging less than one fatal attack per year. Experts suggest that the chance of a resident being seriously injured in an unprovoked alligator incident is about one in 3.1 million. One deadly attack happened in July when an alligator ripped a woman to pieces in a horrifying attack in front of her boyfriend. Brittany Clark, 31, had both of her arms ripped off by the 13-foot beast on June 29 while taking a dip in a river during a hike through the Little Big Econ State Forest in Florida. Investigators said she was killed in a "death roll" while swimming in shoulder-deep water with her boyfriend, Chance Allison, and roommate. She was dragged under the water by the alligator during the attack, with Mr Allison trying urgently to rescue her from the jaws of the beast as it started trying to rip her arm off. A report from the Orange County Medical Examiner's Office stated that both were pulled under water, with the crocodile releasing its grip, only to clamp around the desperate woman's other arm. The report stated:“While they were swimming an alligator grabbed [Brittany] by her arm and began the ‘death roll’."