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Florida beach where 10-year-old girl bitten by alligator remains closed

By WFTV.com
By WFTV.com

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — One of Orange County's most popular lakes remained closed to swimmers Monday after a 10-year-old girl was bitten by a 9-foot alligator in waist-deep water.

The incident happened Saturday along the shores of Lake Mary Jane at Moss Park.

The cordoned-off swimming area where the girl was bitten will remain closed for at least one week as a precaution.

Signs were posted last year to warn swimmers of the potential dangers that lurk in the lake's amber waters.

"The caller is advising the child's leg was bitten," an emergency dispatcher said in a radio transmission to firefighters. "It's still attached. Rangers are with her."

A report released Monday said Juliana Ossa had minor teeth punctures on her leg and that her injuries were not life-threatening.

"When I looked in the water, there was a mean, 9-foot gator in the water biting my leg," Ossa said.

The girl's father said he’s proud of how his daughter handled the attack by knocking the animal’s nose to wriggle free. It’s a tactic she learned from a visit to Gatorland.

"I thought of what they taught me at Gatorland, so I put my two fingers in its nostrils," Ossa said. "It couldn't breathe, so it had to breathe through its mouth and open its mouth, and it let my leg out."

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission completed its review of the area Monday.

FWC contractor George Walrath, who captured and killed the alligator, said he has already caught 38 animals in the past week.

Walrath said he typically traps 100 gators a month, but it's the height of breeding season for the massive reptiles.

An FWC spokesman said the agency found no wrongdoing on the part of the county.

It's now up to the county to decide when to reopen the beach. Officials didn't say whether other parks would be closed.

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