Yes, you read that right. The 22-year-old, Kat Daley, decided to have a pretty unique approach to her graduation from McNeese State University.
While you'd expect the standard pictures to involve a cap throw or two and maybe some more scenic ones of some iconic spots around campus, a picture with "Big Al," the 14-foot alligator, wouldn't be on most people's lists.
But, as reported by the New York Post, Daley has a pretty unique qualification that makes her more than suitable. She helps run the Gator Country sanctuary in Beaumont, Texas, alongside her fiancé.
She's known Big Al and his friend Big Tex for years, and they are quite friendly. Well, as friendly as an alligator would be, I suppose. You could tell me all the sweetest stories in the world, and I still wouldn't pose the way she did!
The picture is pretty crazy, too—she's giving Big Al's snout a big ol' smooch. You know, while she's all dressed up in her graduation garb, sporting a regal blue dress and all.
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Her Alligator Pics Have a Purpose Behind Them
Daley didn't do all that posing for nothing. She wanted to make a statement. She wants to help destigmatize alligators. That's obviously quite the tall task, but the pics do make a pretty good effort. She explained her viewpoint in an interview.
"I really wanted to highlight what I do with these animals every day and what they mean to me," she said. "I feel like reptiles are demonized in the media a lot more than they need to be, alligators specifically. They're not as aggressive as people like to think. When people don't interfere with those wild animals, they aren't gonna interfere with us," she added.
But Gator County helps more than just the odd alligator. She even took some pictures with a "very poisonous" timber rattlesnake—wild, right?
The photographer, Laura Oglesbee, explained that while she was okay with the alligator, the rattlesnake freaked her out a little.
"I had to use my wide lens for that [photo]. They wouldn't let me get too close for that one, but [Daley] just held that snake like it was nothing."
