Posted on 07/14/2026 7:41:52 AM PDT by DFG
Two dim-witted wannabe influencers are being investigated after going wildly viral for filming themselves stroking alligators in Florida — just days after a swimmer was killed by one.
“Come with us to pet alligators,” TikTokker Kileigh Rose wrote of the death-defying foolishness her and a friend reckoned would be part of a fun “Steve Irwin summer.”
One clip shows the young women paddling on Silver Springs State Park in a small, clear canoe when one of them puts her hand in the water, rubbing her hand along the alligator’s back, the Orlando Sentinel reported of the footage that was deleted after racking up 2.1 million views and a flurry of outrage.
“Did you get that? I just pet the s–t out of him,” the foolhardy kayaker said with a smile.
Another clip — seen an astonishing 21 million times — showed an alligator thrashing around near their small canoe.
“F–k!” the TikTokker’s friend shouted as the gator splashed dangerously close, as Kileigh screamed in terror from a paddleboard.
The Florida Wildlife Commission is now investigating the footage, with possible punishment of a $500 fine or even 60 days in jail for petting alligators, which is considered harassment.
The baffling video went viral just days after at least three terrifying alligator attacks — including the horrific mauling of hiker Brittany Clark, also in Florida.
Clark, 31, was ambushed on June 28 while swimming in the Econlockhatchee River at Little Big Econ State Forest, around 90 miles from where the TikTokkers filmed their crazy content.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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Next stop...Yellowstone to pet furry creatures that just want to cuddle.......
These are the same idiots voting for socialism.
It’s like when Trump said that pregnant women shouldn’t take Tylenol, and then you had hoards of pregnant liberal women filming themselves chugging Tylenol.
Florida Gator Ping!..............
These people will soon be nicknamed ‘Stumpy’............
A “Steve Irwin Summer” how did that turn out for him? And he knew what he was doing unlike these simpletons.
hope the trend morphs into influencers petting the tongue of aligators and crocs- crocs love it-
Just call her 'Stumpy.'
I used to go to Silver Springs often when I was a kid. I don’t recall seeing alligators there, but there may have been a couple. People who want to pet an alligator in the wild are nuts.
Morons.... Even baby gators have teeth like razors.
I don’t wish ill on anyone, but one can’t fix stupid.
Unfortunately, these idiots vote as well...
The only thing missing from this ‘Thelma & Louise’ style selfie is both girls flashing the Peace Sign, as though that makes everything just alright.
IQ OF A DONUT
What does this remind us of?
That young girls have a hunger for a little danger and risk taking too, just like young men.
If their day to day existence is too efficiently Bubble Wrapped, they will seek out or invent episodes of danger.
Others may drive donuts in low riders at midnight.
Sad and disturbing how social media has driven so many attention-seekers to desperation.
Everytime an influencer dies, an angel gets its wings.
“...they don’t realize alligators can get mean.”
Alligators in Florida have been protected since 1962. The federal protects started in 1967 as they were determined an endangered species and was taken off about 20 years later when they rebounded. But the state still covers them.
They are a wild animal and they will test the bounds of the crowding humans and have lost fear over the years. And that time is long past. And an alligator can turn around 180 degrees in the water in a fraction of a second—often in as little as 0.2 to 0.5 seconds. If it had wanted them, it could have easily gotten a piece of flesh. They are stupid. Darwin material. There’s a reason the Alcatraz prison in California was put in the bay at San Francisco. They had current and sharks. Alligator Alcatraz is self defining. And they have poisonous snakes, also. But the snakes hide from the gators.
wy69
I dont see the issue here.. this problem is self-correcting
Thank you for reminding people how long the alligators have been running amok.
“Thank you for reminding people how long the alligators have been running amok.”
Hey, they were there first. We are running amok in their domain. Same with sharks.
When I first moved there it was very unusual to hear about a gator killing a human in 1975. I found a record that said there were only 7 in the 1970’s/1980’s. The 90’s had only 5. But they picked up in the early 2000 through 2010 and there have been 10 in the first half of the 2020’s. They’re getting smarter in that they won’t be shot on site at first noticing.
I was playing a golf course at MacDill AFB and a gator was on the bank of a hole on the back nine. They are moving into many tourist areas and are a danger to everyone there.
Example, a 2 year old was killed at Disneyworld, Lane Graves, in August of 2016. Disney has tried to remove the gators from their waterways but it’s been an effort and they are also besieged by snakes to include black racers and pythons turned lose and numbers growing rapidly. The big poison snakes include the Cottonmouth/Water Moccasin, Copperhead, Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Timber Rattlesnake, and the Coral Snake. Ran into a couple of these in jungle training in northern Florida in 1968 and later in 1975 during brave shield 75. Some tasted better than the MRE’s and many of the lrps. They fry up pretty good.
wy69
“Thank you for reminding people how long the alligators have been running amok.”
Hey, they were there first. We are running amok in their domain. Same with sharks.
When I first moved there it was very unusual to hear about a gator killing a human in 1975. I found a record that said there were only 7 in the 1970’s/1980’s. The 90’s had only 5. But they picked up in the early 2000 through 2010 and there have been 10 in the first half of the 2020’s. They’re getting smarter in that they won’t be shot on site at first noticing.
I was playing a golf course at MacDill AFB and a gator was on the bank of a hole on the back nine. They are moving into many tourist areas and are a danger to everyone there.
Example, a 2 year old was killed at Disneyworld, Lane Graves, in August of 2016. Disney has tried to remove the gators from their waterways but it’s been an effort and they are also besieged by snakes to include black racers and pythons turned lose and numbers growing rapidly.
The big poison snakes include the Cottonmouth/Water Moccasin, Copperhead, Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Timber Rattlesnake, and the Coral Snake. Ran into a couple of these in jungle training in northern Florida in 1968 and later in 1975 during brave shield 13. Some tasted better than the MRE’s and many of the lrps. They fry up pretty good.
wy69
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