82-Year-Old Woman Fights Off Alligator by Sticking Finger in His Eye: "It Was Yucky"

Alligators can attack. However, you might be surprised to learn that you are five times more likely to be mauled by dogs and 12 times as likely to be struck by lightning. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data alligators killed 10 people in the southeastern US between 1999 and 2019. While there is only a small chance you will fall victim to one of the savage-looking animals, it doesn't hurt to educate yourself on how to defend yourself against them, just in case. According to an 82-year-old woman who recently survived an attack, the best way is to stick your finger in their eye. 

Elsie Kyle, 82, recently was attacked by an 8-foot alligator but lived to tell her story to The Telegraph. It happened shortly after she lost her husband of 28 years, John, and was in the midst of attending grief counseling. 

Elsie was walking her dog, Lulu, on September 2, 2021, near a man-made lagoon close to her Hilton Head Island home, when she was approached by the gator. "I looked down and I saw this huge alligator, a pretty big guy, especially since I'm only four foot 11, and I got goosebumps," she told The Telegraph.

"I tried to run away but I lost my footing. The gator leapt out of the water and bit down across my legs. That was the first bite. I was in so much shock, I didn't feel any pain."

"It sounded like a massive crack", she said, describing her left leg. Her right side "sort of shattered," she added. 

However, she fought for her life. "I remember being under the water and I stuck my finger in the gator's eye. I remember because it was wet and yucky," she explained. 

The gator performed the death roll, attempting to spin her around under water to drown her. "He was rolling me around in the water, and the reason I know that for sure is my dog's retractable leash was wrapped around my hand because I never let go of it."

Her neighbors, Mary Montour and Layne Carver, heard her screams and ran to her rescue.

"I was still in shallow water and I put my arms up and Mary was grabbing them, but the gator wouldn't let go," she continued. Eventually, her neighbors helped free her. She said: "My legs are gone."

She did make it out with her legs but had reconstructive surgery using both skin grafts from her body and synthetic skin and has metal rods in them. "I can't even begin to tell you what I've gone through. The gator didn't kill me, but he certainly took away what I had left of a normal life," she said. "I would have been fine, I was mobile and I could do almost anything. Now I live in a senior place for assisted living."