A university student who posed for a photo shoot with a massive alligator named Big Tex to celebrate her graduation this week has been getting shocked responses from all over the world – and some unusually good press for her reptilian mate.
Texas A&M University’s Makenzie Noland, 21, first met the four-metre-long reptile in May while interning at a rescue centre near Houston that houses about 450 crocodiles, alligators and other reptiles, the BBC reports.
"I get in the water with that animal every day – he’s one of my best friends there," she told the BBC.
After donning her graduation cap, Ms Noland waded into the water with the animal and placed a ring commemorating her graduation on its nose. Because of her relationship with the animal, she wasn’t frightened, she said.
The photos were posted on social media over the weekend, and immediately received a much larger response than she was expecting, she said.
Ms Noland, who will be earning a degree in wildlife and fisheries sciences, hopes the photos will help spread some good news about alligators, who usually end up in headlines due to negative interactions with humans.
"They’re wonderful creatures – and they’re not all maneaters!" she told the BBC.
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