Birthday Party Alligator Rides
Forget the bouncy house and the clown – one Chicago party company will bring a live alligator to children’s parties and let the kids ride it! Is this a prescription for the best party ever, or a disaster waiting to happen?
Watch: Surviving an Alligator Attack Part 1
Bubba the alligator was rescued in the Chicago area. He’s eight feet long and has been trained to walk, stop, and lie down on command. Ob/Gyn Dr. Nita Landry points out that “If you put a group of kids together and ask them if they want to ride Bubba, a lot of them will say yes. But kids also want to do things like touch fire and eat glue!”
“Do you really think Bubba’s enjoying that?” adds ER Physician Dr. Travis Stork. “No!” He does note that since Bubba was rescued from captivity, he’s probably too tame to be released into the wild. “Who wants a pet that, when their jaws clamp down, there’s 200 pounds of pressure?” wonders Dr. Landry.
Watch: Surviving an Alligator Attack Part 2
Dr. Stork notes that alligators are beautiful animals and not as aggressive as people fear. He kayaked among them in the Everglades and came to admire them. But he thinks they belong in the wild – not a kid’s birthday party.
