The hilarious moment an alligator escaped from its zoo enclosure during feeding time was captured on video last week. The video, which was posted to TikTok by The Reptile Zoo in Fountain Valley, California, has already been viewed nearly 90 million times.
In the video, Julliette Brewer—daughter of zoo owner Jay Brewer—can be seen sliding open the glass door of a zoo enclosure to feed two alligators raw meat. But one of the alligators, "Darth Gator," becomes a bit too excited and jumps out of the enclosure to get a better grip on his meal.
Brewer can be heard saying, "don't think about it" to Darth before entering into a fit of laughter upon his escape.
@thereptilezoo Well this wasn’t expected 😬 the questions is how does he get back in 😳 #alligator #animal #funny
♬ Comical and a little silly carefree music(831995) - Etsuo Kawasaki
"This doesn't happen often," the zoo's social media manager Armen told Newsweek. "[W]e only feed the large gators under controlled settings and while filming, as we never want to miss any possible excitement to share online!"
Of course, commenters wanted to know how Brewer was going to get Darth back into his enclosure. To the horror of many, a video posted by the zoo the following day showed both Juliette and her father lifting Darth off the ground and carrying him back into his rightful home.
"Only one way out and only one way in," reads the TikTok's caption. "Luckily we raised Darth from a baby and he's very mellow for a gator."
Some commenters were shocked.
"How did he not bite?" asked one.
"Weren't you scared?" asked another.
Armen explained that because Juliette knows Darth so well as his handler, there was no danger present during the interaction.
"Juliette raised both the large gators at the zoo from juveniles when they first arrived as rescues," Armen said. "They're basically her 'pets' at this point [of course, alligators are never pets, but figuratively] and she knows them better than anyone else!
"Thanks to Juliette handling Darth so much as a little gator, he's mellow for a gator and Juliette totally understands his body language, so there was no imminent danger in this situation," Armen continued.
Both Darth and "Gomer"—Darth Gator's "roommate"—have been with the zoo for more than a decade. They were rescued from California Fish and Wildlife, who seized them from individuals who owned them illegally.
"Gators are by no means an animal anyone should have as a pet, as we use them for educational purposes here at the zoo," said Armen.
Uncommon Knowledge
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About the writer
Sara Santora is a Newsweek reporter based in Florida. Her focus is reporting on viral social media posts and trends. ... Read more
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