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Alligators found eating unidentified human corpse in Florida

By Andrew V. Pestano
Two alligators were discovered eating the remains of a body found in a canal in South Florida, local officials said. File Photo by Michael Bush/UPI
Two alligators were discovered eating the remains of a body found in a canal in South Florida, local officials said. File Photo by Michael Bush/UPI | License Photo

SOUTHWEST RANCHES, Fla., May 31 (UPI) -- Two fishermen in Southwest Ranches, Fla., found a dead body being eaten by two alligators on Monday but the victim's cause of death was unknown.

The Davie Police Department, which patrols in the affluent town of Southwest Ranches, said the body seems to have been in the water for days. The Broward County Medical Examiner is expected to determine a cause of death.

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While the body pulled out of a canal near U.S. 27 was largely intact, the remains were initially unrecognizable.

"We're not able to determine male or female," Davie Officer Sgt. Pablo Castaneda told reporters. "We're not able to determine race."

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A dive team was called in to recover the body and to search for any clues that could help identify the victim. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission later said the body was that of a man, also adding that it was not clear whether the alligators killed the victim or were scavenging on the corpse.

Police said the investigation into the incident will continue. At least one of the alligators was seen eating the body.

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"What happened to them? How did they end up here? Could it be a homicide, could it be a suicide, could it be natural, a fisherman? We don't know. That's what the next step is to figure that out," Castaneda said.

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