Woman killed by alligator in Florida was a 'fun-loving' spirit, family says

The 31-year-old woman who died after she was attacked by an alligator in Florida on Sunday has been identified as Brittany Clark of Orlando.

News station WESH received a statement from her boyfriend, who was with Clark when she was attacked. He said she loved going out on the water every chance she could, and never in a million years would they have seen this nightmare coming.

Family members said Clark was a fun-loving spirit and an avid bike rider who loved her dog.

An online fundraiser describes what happened to her as a bizarre accident.

"People need to understand this is a very rare situation," said Frank Robb, who has more than three decades of experience dealing with Florida alligators.

Robb offered some insight about the active Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) investigation into the deadly encounter Sunday afternoon in the river at Little Big Econ State Forest.

"FWC has a lot of steps they'll go through," Robb said. "They'll look at bite patterns, look for DNA, things of that nature."

FWC officials said they captured and killed two gators -- a 13-foot gator near where Clark was badly bitten and a 12.5-foot gator a half mile away.

"The guys who go out there to do that job, the trappers who go out there to find the animal that is the problem, they're pretty dang good at their jobs," Robb said.

911 calls captured the concern in the voice of the victim's friend, who described the bite as "horrible."

DNA samples from the harvested gators have been sent to a lab in Gainesville for testing to determine if they were involved in the deadly attack.

Local news outlets have reported three gator attacks within seven days in central Florida.

"You can find alligators in pretty much every body of water in Florida," Robb said. "It's just about being aware of your surroundings."

Known by the nickname "Alligator Robb," the expert said people need to remember to keep their distance.

Only swim in designated areas, and never feed the cold-blooded reptiles.

"If you have an alligator that's been fed, you're dealing with one that's not afraid of people anymore, will approach people, will not naturally be afraid and move away, and that's when the risk goes up," Robb explained.