A trapper has been dispatched to kill or capture an alligator after it savaged a 13-year-old girl.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) put a hit out on the huge reptile after it bit the youngster.
The animal emerged from the water at a paddle boat ramp in Zolfo Springs, Hardee County, Florida, on Sunday.
It retreated back into the water after the attack, which took place at roughly 2.30pm, the Daily Star reports.
The area is known to be home to large alligators that sometimes stalk canoes.
The identity of the girl has not been released, nor have any details about what she was doing at the time.
A spokesman for the FWC said after the attack: "The FWC responded to the scene and a 13-year-old female was transported to the hospital with injuries, but is stable.
“A contracted nuisance alligator trapper has been dispatched to the scene.”
Once the gator trapper arrives at the swamp, FWC officials say they will need to track and confront the beast.
If it is small, it's thought the gator will be stunned and taken to a less-populated area.
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However, it is a large beast, the trapper has been told to eliminate the threat.
Alligators can grow to more than 12ft in length and weigh over 1000 pounds (450kg).
It comes after a homeowner was left horrified after finding an 11ft alligator hiding under their family Jeep in the driveway of their home.
Footage shared by the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office shows wildlife experts attempting to remove the beast on Tuesday, July 19, in Rotonda West’s Oakland Hills Place, near Tampa, Florida.
Hundreds of viewers claimed the gator's roar sounded "prehistoric" as a licensed trapper managed to put a snare around the alligator’s neck before it went into an aggressive spin known as a “death roll”.
A woman was seen in the clip watching from the window as the action took place just 10 feet from her front porch.
The huge reptile measured around 11 feet, two inches, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office, reports the Daily Star.
A statement from the Sheriff's office read: “Around 1 in the morning ... the homeowner found a gator underneath their Jeep. Florida.
"Fish and Wildlife were called out to assist and unbelievably enough, this ... gator took out the homeowner’s light pole.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission contracts licensed trappers to catch and remove “nuisance” alligators, which are those “believed to pose a threat to people, pets or property” and are said to euthanise mature gators before trappers sell the meat and hide, according to the Miami Herald.
