People of Philadelphia that have visited one of the city’s most famous park, had a very wild surprise – an alligator was enjoying the day, just as they did. But it wasn’t a regular reptile, neither one escaped from a zoo, or a wild park or so. It was Wally – the world’s most famous emotional support alligator.
It was Friday, and people took over the Love Park in Philadelphia, but things got even more interesting, when they came nose to nose with an alligator. So, minutes later, tons of videos and photos started to flood the social media platforms.
This is NOT a drill there is an emotional support alligator in Love Park pic.twitter.com/xU7TTs6y2V
— Britt (@brimil) August 26, 2022
The first one that introduced Wally’s park experience to netizens was no one but its owner. He initially uploaded the short video on TikTok, where the now even more famous gator has roughly 70,000 followers.
“Wally enjoyed the day in Philadelphia,” the spot reads!
@wallythealligator Wally loved spending the day in Love Park, Philadelphia !!#WallyGatorESA ♬ Good Time – Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen
Wally and its owner, Joie Henney, have first met six years ago. The man was rescuing reptiles – alligators in special – for roughly 30 years, yet he’ve never got so attached to any reptile before. But with Wally it was different! The now emotional support gator, was around one-year-old and around 20 inches long, when rescued from a lagoon in Florida.
Wally just loves hugging everyone he meets!
Just a big snuggle bunny???? pic.twitter.com/PYOk17QskF
— Britt (@brimil) August 26, 2022
“Wally has been quite different than any alligator I’ve ever dealt with in the past 30 years,” Henney said. “He doesn’t show anger. He doesn’t show aggression. He hasn’t since the day he was caught. I never actually understand why, but he’s just loveable.”
@wallythealligator Replying to @bohemianmelanin ♬ So Fresh, So Clean – Outkast
And indeed, as the videos and photos taken at the Love Park show, Wally is loveable, gentle and extremely friendly. After all, only an alligator like this can sleep with its owner, without harming him.
“He sleeps with me,” Wally’s owner explained. “He even steals my pillows, and my blankets. He’s just awesome!”
