iStockphoto / Stephen Barnes
Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida is one of the busiest theme parks in America. What makes Busch Gardens such a unique attraction is the seamless blending of roller coasters and other rides along with a zoo-like setting full of exotic animals.
The park welcomes between 3 and 4 million visitors each year. And in terms of personal theme park attendance, I’ve been to Busch Gardens 10x more than any other park. Growing up my parents would take me a few times a year since it was only an hour away and in grade school we’d regularly take field trips there.
Never in all my visits to Busch Gardens did I see anything like this video that’s going viral of a person jumping into the alligator enclosure. After hopping the fence he then proceeds to act like Steve Irwin from The Crocodile Hunter.
❌DON’T DO THIS ❌ A man hopped the barrier around an alligator exhibit at @BuschGardens in Tampa.
Nick Reid says the guy was roughly 5 feet away from an alligator before getting back on the other side.
📸: Nick Reid pic.twitter.com/FEdznkSoIm
— Gage Goulding – NBC2 (@GageGoulding) June 2, 2023
While channeling his worst Steve Irwin accent he looks at the crowd and mutters “Another wild Karen, crikey!”
On Twitter, people were commenting “To be fair, the entire state of Florida is just one big alligator habitat.”
Another person added “That’s a good way to catch a lifetime ban from Busch Gardens and probably all other parks owned by that company.”
There are two fences there for double layers of protection from the alligators. So he’d jumped not one but two fences to get into the alligator exhibit located within the Nairobi subsection of the theme park.
Busch Gardens released the following statement to Fox 13 Tampa Bay: “We will not tolerate this blatant disregard of our safety rules and are working with law enforcement on this matter. The safety and well-being of our guests, ambassadors, and animals remains a top priority.”