(Trinidad Express) – A 51-year-old woman was attacked by a caiman on Wednesday, as she made her way to work in the early hours of the morning.

Angela Kowlessar is now warded at the San Fernando General Hospital, after she was attacked by the creature as she made her way across a bridge to her Forestry Division job in Point Fortin, where she is employed as a gardener.

Kowlessar, who has been employed at the Forestry Division for the past 35 years, was crossing the bridge-the only way into the facility-when the caiman snapped at her left foot, taking with it the tip of one of her toes.

Wanting to arrive at her destination in one piece, Kowlessar used her handbag to ward off the caiman and began to swing at it.

Angered by this, the caiman snapped at her right hand, carving off a piece of flesh and dislocating a bone in her left wrist in the process. According to the woman’s husband, Durudeo Ramchal, the incident took place around 5.30 a.m.