7-Foot Alligator Bites 84-Year-Old Woman Walking Her Dog in Florida: 'She's Lucky She Didn't Lose Her Life'

Mar. 15, 2025

An alligator (stock image).Photo:Getty

Getty

An 84-year-old woman was reportedly hospitalized after an alligator attacked her while she was walking her dog in Florida.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said the woman was walking her dog in a neighborhood in the North Fort Myers area around 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 5, when the incident happened, according toNBC News,WINK Newsand theFort Meyers News-Press.

The FWC, Lee County Sheriff’s Office and EMS responded to the scene, and the woman was transported to a local hospital, according to NBC and WINK News. Her condition was unknown as of Friday, per NBC News.

FWC spokesperson Bradley Johnson told NBC News that a 7-foot, 3-inch alligator bit the woman on her right leg, describing her injuries as “significant.” He also said she sustained injuries to her arms and a wrist.

Johnson added that her dog was uninjured in the incident.

After a nuisance alligator trapper found the animal, it was “humanely euthanized” due to public safety, Johnson explained.

The FWC did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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In a separate interview with WINK News, Burlingham recalled, “I ran down there … and she was laying on the ground with her dog, and [she] said that the alligator came up to get the dog. She pulled the dog out of the way and the gator got her leg and arm and hand.”

“He was a thick gator,” Burlingham added. “She’s lucky she didn’t lose her life.”

The FWCrecommendsthat Florida residents “keep a safe distance away” if they see an alligator, never feed an alligator and keep “pets on a leash and away from the water’s edge” as they “resemble alligators’ natural prey.” FWC also noted that alligators were the most active between “dusk and dawn.”

source: people.com