FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. —Video
of a huge alligator getting its back scratched and scrubbed with a push
broom at Everglades Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale has gone viral.
Makenzie Noland, a Texas student, poses for hergraduation photo in cap, sash and – somewhat unusually – with an alligator.
The student shared the image on Facebook and Instagram with the
caption “not your typical graduation photo”, and found herself at the
centre of the internet’s attention.
“I am overwhelmed with how viral my post has gotten,” she posted on Tuesday, “and to see everyone from my hometown pushing me to move forward and supporting me is truly incredible”.
Noland is graduating from Texas A&M University with a major in
wildlife ecology. She had been interning at Gator Country, where she met
Big Tex, who at 13ft 8.5in (4.18 metres) is the largest alligator at
the Beaumont-based rescue centre.
The student, originally from Bellevue in Nebraska, said Tex was
adopted by the centre a couple of years ago. According to her social
media posts, the animal, who can be fussy about who feeds him, first let
Noland do so back in May and they have now become friends.
“I get in the water with that animal every day,” she said, adding
that she also tickled his nose before feeding him. “Every single time I
get in the water with him, I realise how huge he is. He’s a real-life
dinosaur.”
The rescue centre is owned by Arlie Hammonds and Gary Saurage and
claims to be the largest alligator sanctuary in south-east Texas, home
to more than 450 alligators, crocodiles and other reptiles.
The student’s photos have been better received than another
alligator-related stunt from earlier this year. In March, Melody
Kliebert posted a gender-reveal video, which showed an alligator biting into a watermelon to show a blue colour and, with that, the news that she was expecting a boy.
The Klieberts run an alligator farm, and countered criticism of the
video by saying there were several trained alligator handlers available.
The video has had more than 10m views on Facebook since it was first
posted.
