We had to add that parenthetical qualifier to the headline after realizing that it’s perfectly plausible, by Florida’s standards, that an 84 year-old woman could conceivably punch an alligator in the face, completely unprovoked. It’s just simply not that big of a stretch given National Zero’s lengthy archive of reporting picked up from the Sunshine State, much of it involving alligators.

Anyway, Fox News reports North Fort Myers Dolores Boppel is lucky to be alive after an encounter with one of the vicious reptiles. Boppel told local media she had been feeling uneasy while she was out walking her dog on Thursday night just before the beast emerged suddenly from a pond near her trailer park. “All of a sudden, I had a premonition, I’m telling you,” Boppel said. “It was like, ‘Uh-oh’. It was like a torpedo. I didn’t see anything go that fast in my life.” Boppel tossed her Shih-Tzu, Queen, aside and took the brunt of the attack, with the gator biting into her legs.

Boppel then bopped it in the face, causing the alligator to retreat and give her time to escape with her dog. A neighbor heard screams helped Boppel inside and quickly called 911. Bodycam footage recorded by responding sheriff’s deputies caught Boppel saying “Ma’am, God bless you. The park’s gonna pay for this son of a bitch,” to an EMT who was treating her wounds. Florida Fish and Wildlife officials sent a trapper who found the alligator and relocated it to parts unknown.