An 84-year-old woman from North Fort Myers, Florida, was seriously injured in an alligator attack while she was walking her dog near a local pond. Dolores Boppel likened the sudden assault to a “torpedo,” stating she had little time to respond. The incident occurred around 7 p.m. on a Thursday when Boppel noticed a seven-foot, three-inch alligator focusing on her. In an instinctive move, she tossed her small dog into the air to distract the alligator. However, the reptile lunged at her, biting her leg and inflicting substantial injuries.
In addition to the leg injury, Boppel also sustained wounds to her hand and arm, as reported by Bradley Johnson, a representative for the Florida wildlife commission. Boppel was immediately transported to a nearby hospital following the attack. She is currently in stable condition and is said to be recovering well.
The dog, luckily, was unharmed in the incident. The alligator was subsequently captured and removed from the area, as confirmed by another representative from the wildlife commission. Johnson characterized the size of the alligator as “relatively average.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has documented over 450 alligator bites on humans in the state from 1948 to 2022, with 30 of these incidents resulting in fatalities. In June, a video emerged showing the aftermath of a fatal alligator attack that took the life of a homeless grandmother in Largo, a small community south of Clearwater. In the same month, a homeless man lost half his arm during a late-night swim in Seminole County’s Lake Monroe, despite warnings from locals.
Boppel, who is still recuperating from her injuries, was not available for comment.