A US woman was killed by an alligator while walking her dog near a lagoon bordering a golf course, police said, adding the animal guarded her body and kept rescuers back.
The 69-year-old resident of Hilton Head Island in South Carolina was found Tuesday at the edge of the lagoon, the Beaufort County sheriff's office said.
"Rescue efforts were made and an alligator appeared and was guarding the woman, interrupting emergency efforts," the office said in a statement.
It said it was the second fatal alligator attack in the county in less than a year.
Alligators are common in the southeast US, especially in Florida.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
7-Foot Alligator Bites Elderly Woman While She Was Walking Her Dog In US 14-Foot Alligator Found With Body In Its Jaws In US Canal Terrifying Video Shows Alligator Charging At Fisherman In US AAP Asks Its Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal To Quit Over Atishi Remarks "Your Duty...": Chief Justice On Bengal's 'No Night Shift For Women' Note LIVE: Arvind Kejriwal Resigns, Atishi To Be Delhi Chief Minister Pics: Supercars Line Up At The World's Largest Temple, Tourists Stunned IIT Kanpur Launches Project For UP Digital Health Stack New Kia Carnival MPV Gets Over 1,800 Pre-Orders Before Launch Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.