The alligator attack that killed a two-year-old Nebraska boy at a Disney resort in Florida was a tragic, rare incident in a state with the nation's second-largest alligator population.

This is Florida's second fatal alligator attack since October 2015, but before that, the state had avoided a deadly encounter for seven years—the longest stretch since the state started keeping records on such attacks. In response, Disney has closed access to the beaches and lagoons throughout its Orlando park.

Florida has an estimated alligator population of more than a million, based on some 6.7 million acres of suitable habitat, including rivers, lakes, swamps, and marshes.

Despite alligators’ prevalence, the chances of getting bitten by one are minute: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission estimates that a state