At least 414 “nuisance” alligators have been captured and removed from Walt Disney World property since a toddler was killed by one of the reptiles a decade ago, according to a report.
Lane Thomas Graves, two, was killed on June 14, 2016, when an alligator pounced as he built sandcastles on the beach outside Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. The animal lunged out of the Seven Seas Lagoon while Lane was “ankle deep or less in the water,” according to state records obtained by News 6.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission documents obtained by the outlet found that an average of 23 alligators were removed annually by state-contracted trappers from Disney property over the eight years leading up to Lane’s death. In 2016, the year of the attack, 83 alligators were removed from the resort. In 2017, 57 alligators were captured.
Records suggest that an average of 36 alligators were removed from Disney property annually, from 2018 to 2025. In the first four months of 2026, at least a dozen were captured.
Lane was killed while visiting the resort from Elkhorn, Nebraska, with his parents, Matt and Melissa. Lane’s father was injured while trying to rescue his son from the animal, but the two-year-old and the alligator vanished. Lane was found dead a day later, on June 15.
The toddler’s cause of death was determined by the medical examiner to be cranio-cervical trauma and drowning, according to records.
Following Lane’s death, Disney installed fences, warning signs and piles of large rocks to prevent visitors from getting too close to the shorelines of its lakes.
In a statement given to KETV in 2016, the late 2-year-old’s family confirmed that they would not sue Disney following their son’s death.
Following Lane’s death, the boy’s parents established the Lane Thomas Foundation, a nonprofit organization designed to support families of children in need of organ transplants.
In 2021, a spokesperson for Walt Disney World told News 6 that the firm was committed to “safety” and that it worked closely with the Florida officials to remove and relocate wildlife from its property.
The Florida wildlife commission oversees the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program, which, according to the agency’s website, is designed to “proactively address alligator threats in developed areas, while conserving alligators in areas where they naturally occur.”
Under the plan, more than 8,700 alligators who posed a threat to pets, property or people were captured statewide in 2024, records obtained by News 6 suggest.
The state pays trappers a $50 stipend per alligator that is caught, with many choosing to euthanize the nuisance alligators that they capture. Often, they are authorized to sell the meat and hide for additional profit.
Alligators recently captured on Walt Disney World property are transferred to licensed alligator farms and private hunting preserves, the records suggest.
The Independent has contacted Disney Experiences for comment.
