Snorkeler bitten by alligator on Rainbow River, taken to Shands

File photo: Downtown and the Rainbow river in Dunnellon on February 2. [Alan Youngblood/Special to Ocala Gazette] 2022.

A snorkeler was bitten by an alligator Sunday on the Rainbow River and taken to UF Health Shands Hospital, according to authorities.

The condition of the victim was not immediately available.

Dunnellon Mayor Walter Green said the incident occurred “just above Sateke Village,” a residential neighborhood along the river.

Rainbow Springs State Park, where the head spring that feeds the river is located and where visitors swim, was briefly closed following the incident.

Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies, who patrol the waterway, assisted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission following the attack.

“Deputies assisted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) in locating the alligator involved,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “The alligator has since been removed from the area, and the river has reopened.”

Asked whether he could recall a previous alligator attack on the Rainbow River, Green said, “Not to my knowledge.”

A representative of FWC did not respond to an inquiry before publication.

According to FWC, serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida, though the agency notes that conflicts can occur when people recreate in waterways inhabited by the reptiles. FWC advises people to keep their distance from alligators, never feed them and swim only in designated areas during daylight hours.

This is a developing story and will be updated as additional information becomes available.