Travel agent Jay Mandelker of Toronto never imagined his Florida winter holiday would place him at the centre of a rare but horrifying alligator attack that killed his 85-year-old neighbour last Monday. Mandelker is the head of the homeowner’s association in the Spanish Lakes Fairways 55+ retirement community in Fort Pierce, where the victim, Gloria Serge, was pulled into the pond by the 10-foot-long alligator. Video of the attack shows the gator initially rushing out of the water to eat the victim’s small Shih Tzu dog—who survived. After coming ashore, the 500-pound reptile sunk its teeth into the startled senior’s foot and began dragging her into the water, while a neighbour tried unsuccessfully to rescue her and wound up calling 9-1-1. The story, and Mandelker, have been all over the news. He’s since been liaising with local police and Florida wildlife officials, and even held a memorial at a meeting for hundreds of traumatized snowbirds, including several Canadians. He now joins _The CJN Daily _to explain why golfers and walkers need to be more careful in Florida and what his community has learned from the tragedy. What we talked about:.

Watch the TV news coverage of the alligator attack from WPTV
Jay Mandelker, a travel agent and longtime snowbird in Florida, gives advice on travel after the Canada/U.S. border reopened in January 2022, on The CJN Daily.
Learn more about Jay Mandelker at YYZ Travel

Credits: The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

Canadian snowbirds are shaken after an alligator killed an 85-year-old woman in their Florida community