Earlier this week, a video of what looked like a giant alligator, one right out of the Jurassic Park movies, walking on a golf course in Florida, USA went viral.
Many began suggesting that the video might not be real. That it could be a special effects or trick photography. To dispel these rumours, the golf course manager released a video from another angle, showing the reptile from a much closer distance.
While this video might make it easier to believe, how could a golf course remain open with such a huge reptile on the loose? The original video was shot by someone called Charles Helms and was shared on his Facebook page, but no trace of it remains. He himself though he was being "punked".
Could it in fact be a publicity stunt inspired by an advertisement made by an American Insurance company a few years ago, where a giant sea kraken pulls an unsuspecting golfer into a lake?
Numerous videos have gone up on YouTube debating whether the original footage is real or fake. Here, the creator goes through various permutations and combinations. Was the shadow falling in the right direction? Is there some form of distortion, animation or visual trickery involved? And each time, he is led to the conclusion that the video is real.
What he says though is that it is a matter of perspective. The first video looked so fearsome because there was nothing to compare the size of the alligator to. In the second one, with trees in the background, one can see that it isn't as big as it would normally appear.
In another article that analyses the video and found it to be authentic, the team discovered that the gator can be found on holes three, eight and fourteen.
The Buffalo Creek golf course, where the video is shot, is situated next to a reservoir that has a huge alligator population. On speaking to an employee at the video, one analyst found out that "the alligator was once nicknamed Igor and likes to hang out in the reservoir near hole number 9. The alligator has never bothered anyone so there has never been any pressure to remove it or close the course. The managers of the club estimate that the gator is about 15 feet (long)."
If that is true, it would break the all-time record for a Florida gator, which currently stands at 14 feet and 3.5 inches.
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