OCALA, Fla. (WCJB) — A viral video of a woman petting a wild alligator at Silver Springs State Park is drawing online attention and prompting visitors to seek out gator sightings of their own, even as wildlife experts warn the trend could prove fatal for the animals.
FWC investigation underway
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is investigating the incident shown in the viral video.
In Florida, it’s illegal to feed, entice, touch, or capture alligators, except for licensed trappers and permitted hunters.
Wildlife photographer and Silver River kayak tour guide Josh Swander said viral moments like this one can have deadly consequences for alligators.
“Really sad, because it’s like the alligators just kind of live in their life, doing their thing, and then people start kind of messing with them. And then they get killed because of people just wanting a TikTok video,” Swander said.
RELATED: FWC investigates viral alligator touching video in Silver Springs State Park
Visitors drawn from overseas
The video has reached audiences well outside Florida. Visitors from the United Kingdom told TV20 they saw the video before their trip and made sure to add wild alligator sightings to their itinerary.
“We came over for the football, and we’re just heading up to Atlanta, so we thought we’d stop a few days on the way. Yeah, we just didn’t really know what to do. So we just had a little look around, and that’s what he said we should do. And these guys love alligators,” said Bradley Hutchinson, a Silver Springs visitor.
Social media pressure cited
Other visitors said social media may be encouraging people to take dangerous risks in pursuit of viral content.
“Social media plays a lot in it too because people are willing to do extreme things for likes. The wildlife, that’s why it’s called the wildlife. We’re in their habitat, so at the end of the day, we’re in their home. You need to respect them,” said Johanna Prada, a Silver Springs visitor.
Those travelers also said that seeing alligators from a safe distance became part of their Florida experience after viewing the viral video.
FWC is continuing its investigation into the encounter, and the woman in the video potentially faces charges.
The incident comes as multiple people have been harmed, and one person was killed in alligator attacks in Florida this summer.
In two separate attacks in Marion County, a 19-year-old snorkeler was bitten in Rainbow River, and an 11-year-old boy lost his hand to a gator at Nelson’s Fish Camp.
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