A Florida woman died in a gator's jaws in May 2025 – and nobody in her neighborhood saw it coming either.
Two alligators just demolished a screened-in porch in Collier County while the homeowner stood inside listening to what she was sure was a break-in.
She was wrong about the burglar – and right about the danger.
What Kayla Burress Walked Into
Kayla Burress heard the commotion outside her Ave Maria home and did what anyone would do.
She assumed someone was breaking in.
When she looked out, two large alligators were locked in a violent fight directly outside her door.
Before she could process it, they crashed straight through the screened porch – tearing the mesh, bending the metal frame, and ending up inside the space where she lives.
One had the other's hindquarters in its jaws.
There was blood.
Burress told WINK News: "I thought somebody was breaking in because I never thought that the gators were going to enter my porch."
Then she did something every one of her neighbors should hear: "I just warned everybody else in the neighborhood – watch your kids. Watch the dogs. Because it was fast, and they were powerful."
Why This Is Happening Right Now
Ave Maria is a master-planned community in Collier County – built straight into Southwest Florida wetland territory.
Florida has added millions of new residents over the past decade, and every new subdivision comes with a retention pond, a canal, and a welcome sign nobody thought to put up for the gators already living there.
New ponds get dug.
Canal systems expand.
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Suddenly 1.3 million alligators are living next door to neighborhoods full of people who bought the house, loved the view, and had no idea what was in the water behind the sixth green.
Florida Fish and Wildlife fields roughly 14,000 to 15,000 nuisance alligator complaints every single year and removes more than 8,000 problem gators annually.
The numbers keep climbing.
What Mating Season Actually Does to These Animals
Ranger Rob Howell, president of Keep It Wild, explained to WINK exactly why May is when things go sideways.
Breeding season is starting.
Male alligators are territorial, aggressive, and willing to cross into spaces they normally avoid.
"They are going to not only be on edge because breeding season is starting – they're also gonna be on edge because they think their life is at stake," Howell said.
Burress told WINK the fight didn't look like mating behavior – it looked like a territorial battle.
Two alligators locked in a dominance fight will follow each other anywhere.
Including onto your porch.
What Happened in Polk County Last Year
In May 2025, Cynthia Diekema was canoeing with her husband David near Tiger Creek in Polk County.
Their canoe struck an 11-foot, 4-inch alligator and threw them both into the water.
David watched the animal take his wife in its mouth.
He fought to free her.
The gator performed a death roll and swam away.
Cynthia was 61 years old.
Her body was found 20 minutes later.
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The alligator was captured and euthanized that night.
Nobody planned to be that close to a gator that day.
They were canoeing.
The Number You Need Right Now
FWC's Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program dispatches contracted trappers for any gator four feet or longer that poses a threat to people, pets, or property.
The hotline is 866-FWC-GATOR.
Save it.
If you see a gator acting aggressively near your home during mating season – May through June – that is the number.
Do not approach it.
Do not try to shoo it away.
Do not let your dog run at it.
In Florida, interfering with a nuisance alligator removal is a third-degree felony.
Calling FWC isn't overreacting.
The woman in Ave Maria would tell you it's the exact right move.
Sources:
- Nick Paschal, "Two alligators crash onto Florida woman's screened-in porch during fight," The Cool Down, May 10, 2026.
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, "Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program," FWC Official Guidance, 2026.
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, "Human-Alligator Incidents Fact Sheet," FWC, 2023.
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, "Alligator Bites on People in Florida," FWC Statistics, February 2026.
- WINK News, "Two alligators break through woman's screened-in porch," WINK CBS 11, May 10, 2026.
