Alligator crashes students’ Valentine’s Day picnic
Giving a whole new meaning to “Go Gators”
It all began as a romantic gesture for student Tatiana Radulovic, 19, who decided to go on a picnic with her boyfriend at Lake Alice to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Things quickly turned sour when an unexpected guest showed up to their rendezvous.
After stepping away from their blanket to view the lake, an alligator approached their setup and began eating their food. They waited for a while for the alligator to leave, however they ultimately ended up calling UFPD.
An alligator crashes a Valentine’s Day picnic at Lake Alice.
“We saw the alligator just walk up to the picnic area, and sit down,” said Radulovic. Radulovic and her boyfriend watched, horrified, as the alligator chowed down on their food, “He starts chomping at it, and opens the box and starts eating it.”
An image posted by Radulovic on Snapchat before the alligator approached the picnic.
According to Radulovic, another couple that was there tried to scare the alligator off by throwing sticks around it, but to no avail. “The alligator wasn’t leaving and it was getting dark outside,” Radulovic said, “He started looking at other stuff, and I started getting worried because all of our valuables were there.”
Just when Radulovic thought it couldn’t get any worse, the unthinkable happened. “He puts the Polaroid camera in his mouth, and just turns and walks into the lake.” Not only did she lose her food, she also lost her camera.
“One thing I was upset about was that we took a cute Polaroid picture, that was in the camera, so he took that.” Radulovic said. She went on to say, “You can replace a camera, but not the picture.”
Though things took a turn for the worse, Radulovic didn’t let the ordeal ruin her day. As soon as the alligator left, Radulovic and her boyfriend moved all their things and finished the picnic. They also went to a painting class afterwards to end the day.
Radulovic and her boyfriend at a painting class after the picnic.
Radulovic was mildly shook by the experience but thankful that no one got hurt, “During it I was pretty calm, but right after we got in the car and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ because it could have been a lot worse.”
Radulovic went on to post the picture on Facebook, and it now has over a thousand likes and counting. Commenters on the photo joked that the alligator was an “aspiring photographer” and also said that perhaps he was “lonely” given that it was Valentine’s Day.
Whatever the motive, it was a moment Radulovic will likely never forget. Next time when visiting Lake Alice, consider that maybe you’re not the only Gator there.
The couple wasn’t deterred as the posed happily at OAK restaurant.