A 1,000-Pound Gator Is Hand-Fed By A College Student

The majority of people would flee if confronted with a 13-foot, 8.5-inch alligator, but not this lady!

Mackenzie Alexis Noland was a college student at Texas A&M University studying Wildlife Ecology when she began her internship at Gator Country. Mackenzie worked her way up to doing the unimaginable with the aid of the owner, Arlie Hammonds.

During her internship, the courageous young lady got up up and personal with alligators, snakes, crocodiles, and a variety of other creatures that most people avoid. She even worked with pythons and poisonous snakes!

Gator Country’s mission is to “give the animals with a nice home and appropriate care for the remainder of their lives.” Basically, when you call in a nuisance animal, they are taken to this location. They also collaborate with schools and colleges to teach students about the importance of animal conservation.

As a result, this was the ideal spot for Mackenzie, an aspiring Wildlife Conservationist, to intern. Her greatest achievement while she was there was convincing a 1,000-pound, 13-foot-tall gator to trust her enough to be hand-fed.

Bystanders’ hearts raced as Mackenzie walked into the dark water. The gator drew closer and closer until it was face to face with the young college student. She knelt down, held out her hand, and bravely fed the huge scaly beast, to to everyone’s amazement. She even caressed its nose and tapped it on the head as if it were a dog!

Mackenzie is certainly courageous to take on such a daunting task, but based on the affection she shows Gator Country on Facebook, she appears to have loved her time dealing with the deadly animals. Her Texas A&M graduation photos even included her murky-water pal in the photo session.

You can watch her full breath-taking video of how she feeds gators below but please, don’t try this at home!