0 Lake at Moss Park closed after 10-year-old girl bitten by alligator 
 
 ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - A 10-year-old girl is recovering at home after she was bitten by an alligator in Lake Mary Jane at Lake Moss Park, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials said. 
 
 The girl was sitting in the 2-feet deep water, in a designated swim area, shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday when the alligator, which was estimated to be 8 to 9 feet long, attacked, FWC officials said. 
 
 She was transported to Nemours Children's Hospital by her parents, officials said. She has at least 10 stitches, her father told Channel 9's Julie Salomone. 
 
 Photos: Alligator captured, killed at Lake Moss Park 
 
 The girl said she fought off the gator by poking it in the nostril, something she learned while visiting Gatorland, a theme park and wildlife preserve, her father said. She also pried the gator's mouth open to remove her leg, the girl told officials. 
 
 "To get an animal with the strongest bite on the planet to let go of you is a miracle," said Donald Aldarelli, Gatorland representative. "I'm just happy that she heard it here." 
 
 FWC trapper George Walrath captured and euthanized the gator in Lake Hart after the attack, according to Orange County Parks and Recreation. 
 
 Photos: Alligator captured, killed in Marion County 
 
 "In an abundance of caution, the waterfront will be off limits to the public for the next week while Florida Fish & Wildlife conduct a review and until Orange County Parks & Recreation Division can meet with the agency to review the situation before making any decisions on opening the waterfront," said Matt Suedmeyer, manager of Orange County Parks & Recreation Division, in a statement. 
 
 FWC released information on the number of alligator bites throughout the state. 
 
 Several alligator warning signs were put up throughout Orange County after an alligator attacked and killed a 2-year-old boy at Disney. © 2018 Cox Media Group. 
 
 Last June, Lane Graves, 2, was attacked and killed by an alligator at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort. 
 
 Graves death led to officials adding more alligator warning signs throughout the county. 
 
 Read: Parents of toddler killed by alligator release statement 
 
 A woman swimming in Wekiva Springs in 2015 had her arm bitten off by an alligator. 
 
 Watch below to learn 9 Facts about Alligators: 
 
 We just got this photo of the gator that bit the 10 yr old. The alligator was caught by a trapper. pic.twitter.com/NbeWsiGGmH — Julie Salomone (@JSalomoneWFTV) May 7, 2017 
 
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 © 2018 Cox Media Group. 

 A 10-year-old girl was bitten in the leg by an alligator while sitting in water at an Orange County park on Saturday, officials said. 
 
 The girl was with her family at Moss Park near the Lake Hart area in southeast Orange County, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 
 
 She was sitting in about 2-feet-deep water in one of the lakes when the attack happened. Her family was close by, wading in the shallow water, Chad Weber, a spokesman for FWC. 
 
 An 8-foot, 9-inch alligator bit her in the knee and calf about 3 p.m., Weber said. 
 
 “She had puncture wounds but I don’t think they’re life threatening,” Weber said. 
 
 Shortly after the incident, officials were able to trap the suspected alligator. 
 
 Family members drove her to Nemours Children's Hospital for treatment. 
 
 Weber said investigators are following up with witnesses and family members trying to figure out what led up to the incident. 
 
 The park, which is flanked by Lake Hart and Lake Mary Jane, will have its waterfront area closed off to the public for the week out of “an abundance of caution,” said Matt Suedmeyer, the manager of Orange County Parks and Recreation. 
 
 Suedmeyer said they want to meet with FWC after they conduct a review before “making any decisions on opening the waterfront” area. 
 
 The park is flanked by two large lakes, Lake Hart and Lake Mary Jane. 
 
 In 2010, triathlete Doug McCard was bitten while swimming in Lake Mary Jane. 
 
 He was able to fight the reptile off but was bitten more than seven times. 
 
 At the time, Fish and Wildlife officials said an island to one side of the park's swimming area was home to roosting birds and, often, gators. 
 
 As of September 2016, FWC said there have been 388 alligator attacks in the state since 1948, including 263 major documented cases and 24 fatal attacks. 
 
 Last year, Orange County added or replaced weathered signs near some county swimming areas and boat ramps warning of alligators and snakes after 2-year-old Lane Graves was killed by an alligator at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa at Walt Disney World. 
 
 The warnings were posted at some of the most popular recreational areas such as Moss Park. 
 
 “It’s one of the things us Floridians just know,” Weber said. “If there’s a body of water, there’s likely to be a gator in it.” 
 
 chayes@orlandosentinel.com, 407-420-5493 or Twitter: @journo_christal 
 
 Orange County adds more gator warning signs » 

 A 10-year-old girl in Orlando, Florida, pried open an alligator's mouth to free her leg after the animal clamped down on her left knee, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission said. 
 
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 The girl was swimming Saturday afternoon in a designated swim area of Lake Mary Jane, in water that was about two feet deep and 10 feet from shore, when an 8-foot-9-inch-long alligator bit her. 
 
 She was able to pry open the gator's mouth and remove her leg but sustained several puncture wounds to the back of her knee and lower thigh, the state commission said. 
 
 She was treated by lifeguards, taken by family members to a children's hospital and has reportedly since been released. 
 
 Moss Park is flanked by two large lakes, Lake Hart and Lake Mary Jane here gators sometimes appear, according to the Orlando Sentinel. 
 
 There were four other members of her party, standing approximately 30 feet from the shore when she was bitten, officials said. 
 
 More caution tape going up at Moss Park. A gator bit a 10 yr old girl who was swimming. Lake now closed til further notice. pic.twitter.com/PPKMdyHRGt — Julie Salomone (@JSalomoneWFTV) May 7, 2017 
 
 The alligator was caught and removed from the lake by a trapper. 
 
 The lake is closed for swimming today and surrounded with yellow tape. The alligator was caught and removed by a trapper. 
 
 The Florida Wildlife Commission says on its website that some gators in the region can grow to be 14 feet long and weigh more than 1,000 pounds. 
 
 ABC News' Benjamin Stein contributed to this report.
– A 10-year-old girl in Florida managed to avoid becoming a statistic—and a meal—when she was attacked by an alligator around twice her size. Authorities say the girl was sitting in shallow water about 10 feet from shore in the Orlando-area Lake Mary Jane on Saturday afternoon when the 8-foot, 9-inch gator bit her on the knee and calf, ABC News reports. The girl, whose relatives were around 30 feet from shore, was able to pry the animal's jaws open and free herself, authorities say. She was taken to a local hospital and released after being treated for several puncture wounds. A trapper caught and killed the alligator. The girl's father says that in a move learned in a trip to the Gatorland theme park, she poked the alligator in the nostril. "To get an animal with the strongest bite on the planet to let go of you is a miracle," Gatorland spokesman Donald Aldarelli tells WFTV. "I'm just happy that she heard it here." Officials say Moss Park, which borders this lake, will be closed this week out of an "abundance of caution," reports the Orlando Sentinel, which notes that out of 388 documented alligator attacks in Florida since 1948, there have been 24 deaths. (This Florida golfer defended himself with a putter after a gator dragged him into a water hazard.)