Nature-loving mom, 58, identified as alligator attack victim after making terrible mistake... as family reveals ghastly new details of how crystal-clear Florida river ran red

A nature-loving mother was terribly mauled by an alligator after ignoring a 'no swimming' sign and taking to the crystal clear waters of a Florida river.

Dina Rae Spann, 58, was enjoying the Silver River in Marion County Saturday when the 9ft 8in alligator attacked. 

It ripped her right arm off, ate one of the fingers on her left arm and dragged Spann underwater. 

Spann fought back with a paddle in her hand and was saved thanks to a bystander as the river's spectacular waters ran red with her blood.

Visitors have long been banned from swimming, but boating and kayaking is permitted. It is unclear why Spann chose to ignore the 'no swimming' rule.  

Spann was rushed to hospital with 'bones poking out' of her skin. Doctors managed to save her life but she now faces a long road to recovery. 

Spann's son Zachary told the Daily Mail he bemoaned that visitors coming from out of state have taken to feeding the beasts in the river, which he believes may have been the reason why the alligator came so close to his mother on August 8. 

He said: 'It absolutely causes them to approach, when they feel like there is no threat.  I’ve never seen anything like that. 

'I grew up camping the Oklawaha with my mom and my dad since I was a kid. We spend almost every other weekend on the water. Alligators are normally timid and scared of humans.

'She lost her right arm and one finger on the left, but she’s strong. She’s good. She’s making jokes she’s just herself.' 

Another family member revealed that Spann is still in hospital recovering from the traumatic injury, but she is in a stable condition. 

Prayers poured in for the recovering mother on social media, with many expressing their shock and offering support.

Good Samaritan John Gamache and his father were eating lunch on their boat nearby when they heard the fiasco unfold.

Gamache was able to spot the approaching alligator in the crystal-clear spring water, and sped his boat toward the group. 

'I looked just upriver from us a couple hundred feet and saw an alligator head way above the water and going full speed towards the swimmers,' Gamache said.

By the time he reached her, the alligator had let go, while the sound of the boat sent the predator fleeing. 

The injured woman was clinging to a paddleboard when the boaters arrived.

Seeing the severity of her injuries, Gamache sprang into action, using a rope to fashion a tourniquet and stem the bleeding from her mangled arm.

'It was a terrible injury, bones poking out, blood everywhere. Obviously, the minutes mattered,' Gamache told FOX35.

The boaters pulled the remaining swimmers aboard and raced to shore, where first responders met them and rushed the injured woman to the hospital.

An alligator trapper was called to the scene to track down the reptile, which was located later that day, officials said.

Gamache said the victim's family was deeply grateful for his heroic efforts and thanked him over the phone.

'They called earlier and we talked for a while and it was heartwarming to hear them explain their emotions,' Gamache told the outlet.

'We're glad that it happened as good as it could have. Like the result is just the sustained injury and nothing more,' he added.

Following the attack, Marion County officials temporarily closed Silver River while a trapper worked to capture the alligator. The river reopened to the public Sunday.