An 84-year-old South Florida woman was hospitalized with brutal injuries after she and her pet were attacked by a six-foot-long alligator.
Del Boppel and her dog Queen were walking near a pond located near their home in Julia Mobile Home Park around 7 p.m. on September when she spotted the predator.
“Suddenly, I had a premonition, I can tell you. It was like, ‘uh-uh,'” Boppel said from his hospital bed.
A second later, when the 7-foot-2 alligator bit Boppel on her right leg, she tossed Queen into the air, hitting the animal in the face.
Del Boppel and her dog, Queen, were walking near a pond located near her home in the Julia Mobile Home Park around 7 p.m. on Sept. 10 when she spotted the predator.
“It was like a torpedo. I’ve never seen anything go by so fast in my life. I didn’t have time to think,” Boppel said.
The alligator managed to tear off a chunk of her leg and fingers before escaping, leaving her with “significant” injuries to her arms and a wrist.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Lee County Sheriff’s Office and Lee County Emergency Medical Services also responded to a 911 call made by a neighbor.
According NBC News: An alligator trapper later found the animal and “humanely euthanized” the predator.
The alligator managed to tear off a chunk of her leg and fingers before escaping, leaving her with “significant” injuries to her arms and a wrist.
A nuisance alligator hunter later found the animal and “humanely euthanized” the predator.
Despite his condition, he remains in good spirits and hopes to be reunited with his dog.
Boppel also revealed that he had previously complained to his community about the large alligators, but never received a response.
In July, another Florida woman was attacked in the leg by an eight-foot alligator while she was swimming in a river.
Rachel Thompson was doing her daily morning yoga and jogging routine when she walked down to the Hillsborough River near her home in Temple Terrace.
According to the FWC, between 2004 and 2022, the state recorded nearly 190 alligator attacks, 12 of which were fatal.
Upon leaving the river he discovered the alligator and was immediately attacked.
“The moment I saw his head, it was just a split second between the moment I saw his head and him grabbing my leg,” Thompson said.
Thompson tried everything she knew to try to stop the alligator: she grabbed a rock and hit it. The alligator attacked her even more until she managed to escape in an amazing way.
According to the CFMBetween 2004 and 2022, the state recorded nearly 190 alligator attacks, 12 of which were fatal.
