84-year-old Florida woman bitten by alligator while walking her dog recalls attack

By Ashley R. Williams, CNN

(CNN) — An 84-year-old woman in southwest Florida was bitten by an alligator this week while walking her dog—and she lived to tell the tale.

Del Boppel told CNN affiliate WBBH she was walking her dog, Queen, on Thursday night near a pond in her North Fort Myers mobile home park when she said she felt eyes upon her and like something was about to happen.

“All of a sudden, I had a premonition, I’m telling you,” Boppel said from her hospital bed, according to WBBH. “It was like, ‘uh-oh.’”

That bad feeling turned out to be a 7-foot, 3-inch alligator, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed to CNN.

The alligator approached Boppel and her Shih Tzu so quickly that she barely had time to react, she recalled.

“It was like a torpedo. I didn’t see anything go that fast in my life,” Boppel told WBBH.

She said she tossed her dog into the air as the alligator lunged at her, biting her legs and fingers, WBBH reported.

A neighbor who called 911 is seen on body camera footage from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office telling authorities that she opened her window and heard someone screaming, CNN affiliate WINK reported.

Boppel said she punched the alligator in the face before it retreated, according to WBBH.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, and Lee County Emergency Medical Services responded to the incident. A nuisance alligator trapper removed the reptile, the wildlife agency said.

Boppel was taken to a hospital for treatment. As of Saturday, the state wildlife agency had not provided an update on her condition.

Despite her injuries, Boppel told WBBH she was in good spirits and looking forward to reuniting with her dog.

Serious alligator-related injuries are rare in Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Between 2004 and 2022, the state recorded nearly 190 alligator attacks, 12 of which were fatal.

In February 2023, a 10-foot alligator attacked and killed an 85-year-old woman walking her dog in Fort Pierce, Florida, by grabbing her foot and dragging her into a nearby pond, CNN previously reported.

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CNN’s Brammhi Balarajan and Rebekah Riess contributed to this report.