Florida Teens Caught on Video ‘Force Feeding’ Baby Alligator Twisted Teas and Guzzling Booze Straight from Gator’s Mouth
(Photo: 10 Tampa Bay/YouTube)
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) recently charged a teen with illegally handling a young alligator. The charge comes after two Florida teens were caught on video provoking the animal into biting/drinking a canned ready-to-drink cocktail. The incident occurred in a Plant City, Florida parking lot.
Another teen in the area, Lexxuss Thomas, witnessed the teens harassing the juvenile alligator last Thursday and decided to video the incident. She hoped by sharing the video on social media the individual’s parents would see it.
“The kid in the red shirt in the video was the one that went and grabbed that alligator from the bed of his truck,” Thomas told 10 Tampa Bay. It’s not disclosed where the teens stole the gator from or how long it was held captive.
Thomas continued, “They were throwing it around. Force-feeding it Twisted Teas. Basically tormenting the little thing.”
Over the weekend, FWC received a report of a video spreading on social media and moved forward with an investigation into the incident. One of the boys in the video has since been charged.
“The lack of respect and responsibility shown toward this animal was disappointing to see,” SW Regional Commander Major Rob Rowe said in a statement. “Our officer exhibited exemplary investigative skills and quickly identified the subjects involved in this abusive and illegal activity. We are dedicated to preserving Florida’s diverse wildlife and this serves as a strong reminder of the consequences of such behavior.”
According to FWC, alligators less than 4 feet in length are not considered dangerous unless handled since bites can cause serious infections. Regardless, in Florida, it is illegal to feed and handle alligators of any size. At this time, the severity of the charge against the individual in the video is unclear.
“In my opinion, everyone they got on video that touched it needs to be brought in front of a judge, and then the judge needs to take some serious points of views to use as an example,” Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation president Vernon Yates told WFLA.
Yates added, “There’s got to be something better they could be doing with their time besides tormenting some poor little alligator.”
The FWC has not yet reported whether the alligator survived. Hopefully, the poor juvenile creature was unharmed by the horrible incident.
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