An 84-year-old South Florida woman was hospitalized with serious injuries after she and her pet were attacked by a six-foot alligator.
Del Boppel and her dog Queen were walking near a pond near her home in Julia Mobile Home Park around 7 p.m. in September when she spotted the predator.
“All of a sudden I had a feeling, I can tell you. It was like, ‘Uh-uh,'” Boppel said from her hospital bed.
A second later, when the 7-foot alligator bit Boppel on her right leg, she threw Queen into the air and punched the animal in the face.
Del Boppel and her dog, Queen, were walking near a pond near her home in Julia Mobile Home Park around 7 p.m. on Sept. 1 when she spotted the predator
“It was like a torpedo. I’ve never seen anything so fast in my life. I didn’t have time to think,” Boppel said.
The alligator managed to slice off a chunk of her leg and fingers before running away, leaving her with “serious” injuries to her arms and wrist.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and Lee County Emergency Medical Services also responded to a 911 call from a neighbor.
According to NBC News, a troublesome alligator hunter later found the animal and had the predator “humanely euthanized.”
The alligator managed to grab a chunk of her leg and fingers before running away, leaving her with “serious” injuries to her arms and wrist
A troublesome alligator hunter later found the animal and had the predator “humanely euthanized”
Despite her condition, she is still cheerful and looking forward to seeing her dog again.
Boppel also indicated that she had previously complained to her neighborhood about the large alligators, but that she had never heard from her again.
In July, another Florida woman’s leg was injured by an eight-foot alligator while she was swimming in a river.
Rachel Thompson was doing her daily morning routine of yoga and jogging when she headed to the Hillsborough River, near her home in Temple Terrace.
According to the FWC, the state recorded nearly 190 alligator attacks between 2004 and 2022, 12 of which were fatal.
When she got out of the river she spotted the alligator and was immediately attacked.
“The moment I saw his head, it was just a split second before I saw his head and he grabbed my leg,” Thompson said.
Thompson tried everything she could to stop the gator: she grabbed a rock and hit it. The gator continued to attack her until she miraculously escaped.
According to the FWC, nearly 190 alligator attacks were recorded in the state between 2004 and 2022, 12 of which were fatal.