JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Video captured at a Jacksonville, Florida, retention pond shows that sometimes alligators just want to have a little fun.
The video, recorded by an executive producer at WJAX, shows an alligator swimming in a retention pond on the city’s southside, chasing a toy boat.
As the person controlling the boat changes its course, you can see the alligator chase it. It’s unclear whether the alligator is playing or believes the boat is prey.
A study done in 2015 at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville documented alligators and similar animals playing, finding the animals had 15 separate play behaviors. That included playing with bright flowers, snapping at steam in the water and giving other, smaller, alligators piggyback rides, National Geographic reported.
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