'Darth Gator' video shows alligator escape enclosure in Southern California
FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. - A TikTok video of an alligator escaping an enclosure in the Fountain Valley Reptile Zoo during mealtime has gone viral, garnering more than 84 million views in 10 days.
In the video, a staff member, who is identified as Juliette Brewer, the daughter of the zoo owner, by Newsweek, can be seen opening a glass slide window, getting ready to feed raw poultry to two alligators.
However, one of the gators, named "Darth Gator," can be seen climbing over the enclosure to get a better grip of the chicken meat.
"Don't think about it, don't think about it," laughed Brewer nervously as the reptile began to climb out of the enclosure.
The gator is 8.5 feet long and over 200 pounds according to a longer recording of the event posted on the Zoo's Facebook page.
Once Darth Gator was completely out of the enclosure, Brewer moved the plastic box full of chicken meat away from the gator. But the gator snapped a corner of the box. Brewer can be heard laughing throughout the video.
The videos have been good for business, staff members of the Reptile Zoo said. Many visitors claimed that they visited the facility because of the video.
In a separate Tiktok video, Brewer was seen carrying Darth with her father, Jay Brewer, placing the gator back into its enclosure. Darth can be swaying its tail vigorously.
"That tail hurts," cried Jay in front of the camera.
The Brewers have raised Darth Gator from infancy. "Luckily we raised Darth from a baby and he’s very mellow for a gator," a video caption states.
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Fountain Valley Reptile Zoo is an educational and entertainment facility in Orange County that "houses reptiles, amphibians, and arachnids from around the world", according to their official website.