Alligator Pees On Zookeeper Who Tries To 'Hug' Him In 'Awkward' Video Viewed Nearly 8M Times

When one thinks of alligators, the first thought typically isn't how cuddly they are. A zookeeper at The Reptile Zoo in Fountain Valley, California posted an interaction with a gator named Darth Gator. The video has been viewed nearly 8 million times with over 14,000 comments on TikTok alone.

"Sometimes I hug Darth Gator he is out alligator ambassador did you know that Darth is an invasive species in California where the Zoo is which is why they're illegal as pets," the Instagram caption reads. There are almost 136,000 likes on that post.

In the video, Juliette Brewer, who works at her father Jay Brewer's zoo, is seen lying on the floor with the large gator on top of her.

"This is Darth," she said. "I've got photos of him throughout his whole life span. But he got me this time. I tried to hold him, he said 'nope.'"

When she let an antsy Darth go, she found a surprise: he left a hug pile of urine.

"Oh, dear Lord," she laughed. "What happened?"

Darth, Brewer said in another Instagram video, is an American male alligator who weighs more than 200 pounds. She said males will get up to 1500 pounds. He's been a mainstay at The Reptile Zoo since he was a baby. And, though he's a dangerous reptile, he seems to have a good relationship with his handler.

It's not totally out-of-whack that Darth likes — or at least tolerates — hugs. In 2019 Philadelphia man spoke about his emotional support alligator. Joie Henney, host of Joie Henney's Outdoor, explained his close relationship with [now] 5-year-old Wally the alligator saying at the time, "He's just like a dog. He wants to be loved and petted." Alligators can live anywhere between 30-50 years of age, but don't usually make good pets.

Naturally, viewers sounded-off in the comments sections of Instagram and TikTok to speak their disbelief.

"I love the passion for the animals but baby girl is getting waaaaaaaay too comfortable," @diamondndre.com wrote.

"Like a puppy he got too excited," @the.cool.kidtaker3112 said.

"Pretty sure he just exerted his dominance. You are now the pet," @romancebybecca added.

"tiktok didn't tell me this is dangerous so imma go find me a gator to cuddle," @laniikayy said.

However, not everyone thought the video was OK.

"yeah and then one day when you move wrong and it hurts you, the alligator is the one that's gonna be killed, bc if [sic], it is irresponsible," @wonderbread69_ _ wrote.

"That seems incredibly dangerous," @katmelmc said.

The zoo continues posting clips of all animals in their sanctuary