Fatal Gator Attack: Disney’s Signs Under Fire

Orlando, FL — One day after a 2-year-old boy’s body was pulled from the waters of Disney’s Seven Seas Lagoon, the entertainment company is under fire about its signage — or lack thereof — along the banks of its man-made lake.

Signs posted along the lake warned guests at the Grand Floridian Resort that swimming wasn’t allowed. But Lane Graves, 2, wasn’t swimming when he was snatched by an alligator and pulled into the water Tuesday evening, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office has said.

The boy was standing at the edge of the lake with his feet in the water when the alligator grabbed him, Orange County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Rose Silva said Wednesday.

See Also: Boy’s Body Recovered After Disney Gator Attack

"The father hears splashing, sees the alligator grabbing his child," Silva said. The father "struggles with the alligator (and the) alligator pulls the child into the water and they disappeared."

Lane’s body was recovered intact late Wednesday afternoon. His parents, Matt and Melissa Graves of Elkhorn, Nebraska were informed of the news by Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings. The cause of the child’s death remains under investigation by the county’s medical examiner’s office.

Five alligators have been pulled out of the Seven Seas Lagoon since Lane was taken.

Some, however, say those actions aren’t enough and wonder why those “No Swimming” signs didn’t also include warnings about alligators. WESH 2 News reported only finding one alligator warning sign at the resort complex. That sign, which reads “Do not feed or go near the alligators,” wasn’t posted at the lagoon, the station reported. It was found near a small pond.

That lack of signage could put Disney in some legal hot water, The Washington Post reported. Alan Sykes, a Stanford Law School professor, told the paper it could all come down to whether or not Disney officials knew there were alligators in the water near the hotel.

“A simple ‘no swimming’ sign might be deemed insufficient,” Sykes told the Post. “If it gets litigated, it’s most likely a case about reasonable warning.”

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has said it routinely removes alligators from Disney’s waters, Fox News reported.

"All of our beaches are currently closed, and we are conducting a swift and thorough review of all of our processes and protocols," Jacquee Wahler, vice president of Walt Disney World Resort, said in a Thursday statement. " This includes the number, placement and wording of our signage and warnings."

Fatal alligator attacks are rare but not unheard of in Florida.

Last October, a 62-year-old man swimming in Blue Springs State Park died as a result of an alligator attack. A 12-1/2-foot alligator was captured and euthanized following that attack.

Earlier this month, a 72-year-old homeless man was found dead in the jaws of an alligator in Lakeland. Authorities have yet to release a cause of death in that case.

Despite the state’s bustling alligator population, serious attacks and fatalities are not common in Florida. Between 1948 and 2013, there were 22 fatalities recorded, according to FWC records. During that period, a total of 122 minor bites and 235 major bites were also logged. The last fatal alligator attack on record prior to this year occurred in 2007.

Alligator-related human fatalities might not be common, but encounters with the creatures are. Those encounters add up to so many over the course of any given year that the state has set up its own hotline to accept nuisance alligator calls. That number is 1-866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286).

Photo courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission