Think of an alligator, and what comes to mind? Massive jaws? A terrifying lunge? A baleful glare?
A TikTok video that’s been viewed millions of times on Twitter might change your mind.
The video shows an alligator coasting along through a pool, with the plastic sides of the enclosure allowing viewers to see the very relaxed critter.
God I wish I was him pic.twitter.com/13ppwZeKBy
— Gators Daily ? (@GatorsDaily) June 4, 2022
Some others also see calm in the creatures.
I wish I could share the level of contentment these guys all seem to have… #americanalligator #eosrp #sigma150600mm #capturedoncanon #alligatormississippiensis #naturephotography #animals #photographer #gators #fieldherping #wildlife #photography #alligator #reptile #wild pic.twitter.com/45MX48bi5v
— Lowbass (@lowbassphotog) June 9, 2022
Of course, there are other alligator stories that are far less soothing.
Take the case of Foster Thorbjornsen, who related his close call on Facebook.
“While walking in a park yesterday near my home in Seminole, Florida, I saw a large alligator floating in a lake 20 feet from the shore. He was the … biggest alligator I have seen in the wild (8-10 feet long). I stopped to take close-up pictures of him with my zoom lens, while he stared back at me with cold dark menacing eyes,” Thorbjornsen wrote.
“When I turned my gaze away from him to check my camera, he quickly swam to shore and charged at me, stopping when he was almost completely out of the water about 10 feet away from me. The timing of his charge was deliberate. He waited for me to turn and look away. It was nerve wracking and intense.”
It was not until later that Thorbjornsen realized a man had been killed by an alligator at the same park not long before.
“It was only afterwards that I recalled reading a story about a man being killed by a large gator in this same park only two weeks ago when he foolishly entered the water to retrieve his frisbee. This is a park frequented by families with small children who often go to the water’s edge. Definitely not the ideal place for a large aggressive territorial bull gator,” he wrote.
But there is always someone who wants to have a unique pet.
On June 11, Karen the alligator got into a scrape with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, which reported the incident on Facebook.
After a vehicle pursuit, “the passenger, ‘Karen’ the Alligator, attempted to flee the scene, but was taken into custody after a short scuffle. Karen is not facing any charges at this time. We believe she was an unwilling participant during the incident, nor do we believe she was ever in control of the vehicle,” the sheriff’s office said.
The alligator’s owner faces multiple charges in the incident, so he and his pet may be parted for a long time.
