‘Sweetie’ the huggable Florida alligator goes viral on TikTok

Blind gator couldn’t survive in the wild

FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 18, 2019 file photo, an alligator rests in Everglades National Park, near Flamingo, Fla. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File) (Robert F. Bukaty, Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Sweetie probably is the most famous alligator in the world after going viral on multiple social media sites since Tuesday.

The 6-year-old, blind American alligator was spotted wearing a lime green T-shirt and being carried like a baby into the Florida Key Lime Co. in Cocoa Beach, News 6 partner Florida Today reported.

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The uniquely Florida moment was caught on video and has racked up millions of views across Facebook, TikTok and Twitter.

"Why does this sum up Florida so well?" the original poster posited on TikTok.

It received other sarcastic but endearing remarks about the Sunshine State and Brevard County, as well. "Welcome to Florida," "I love Cocoa Beach" and "Only in Florida" were some of the other captions and comments on the video.

Louie Morehead, the owner of the Florida Key Lime Co., just next to Ron Jon Surf Shop, said he took Sweetie the gator in as a rescue.

Sweetie was taken in by a wildlife park before being adopted by Morehead. With no eyesight, she never would have made it in the wild, he said.

When she was small, she was injured in the wild and the Florida Fish and Wildlife found her said Morehead. "She had such a calm and docile personality."

Sweetie is typically at Florida Key Lime Pie on weekends from 2 to 6 p.m., Morehead said.


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