College Graduate Took Graduation Photos With Massive Texas Alligators Named Big Al and Tex

Most graduation photos follow a familiar pattern.

A cap. A gown. A nice campus background. Maybe a proud family member standing nearby. Maybe a pose with the diploma cover.

Katalina Daley went in a very different direction.

The recent McNeese State University graduate marked the moment by taking graduation photos with two massive alligators at Gator Country Adventure Park & Sanctuary in Beaumont, Texas. According to People, the alligators were named Big Al and Tex, and Daley was not just posing with them for shock value. She works with the animals as part of her job.

That still does not make the photos look any less wild.

Daley, who earned a Bachelor of General Studies degree, works as an animal care coordinator at Gator Country. The Beaumont sanctuary is known for housing rescued and nuisance alligators, including some very large reptiles that most people would never dream of getting close to on purpose.

Daley did not just stand near them from a safe distance. In some images, she posed close enough to make people stop scrolling and look twice.

The New York Post reported that one of the gators involved was Big Al, a 14-foot alligator, and that Daley even posed in a way that looked like she was kissing the animal on the snout. She also reportedly posed with another large gator named Big Tex.

For most families, that would be the kind of idea that gets shut down before the camera comes out.

For Daley, it made sense.

She has spent years working around wildlife and has experience handling reptiles in controlled environments. Her graduation photos were not some random dare with a wild animal pulled from a pond. They were taken at a facility where she works, with animals and handlers familiar with the setting.

That distinction matters because alligators are not props. They are powerful wild animals, and even people with experience have to treat them with respect. Daley has emphasized that safety was part of the process, and the photos were done in a controlled environment with people who knew the animals.

Still, there is no getting around how bold the images look.

Graduation photos are supposed to capture a person’s personality, and these definitely do that. Daley’s work at Gator Country is not just a side detail in her life. It is part of what she loves. She has spoken about wanting people to understand alligators better and not see them only as monsters or threats.

That is a very Texas kind of graduation message: proud of the degree, proud of the work, and apparently not afraid to pose inches away from a giant reptile.

The photos also fit the setting. Gator Country is one of those places where Texas wildlife, education, rescue work, and tourist curiosity all overlap. Visitors go there to see animals they would not safely encounter on their own, and the staff works with reptiles that have often been removed from other places because they became a nuisance or safety concern.

Daley’s shoot took that world and turned it into a graduation celebration.

Some people may look at the photos and think they are amazing. Others may think they are terrifying. A few may wonder whether a plain old campus fountain would have been enough.

But there is no question the pictures stand out.

Plenty of graduates take photos they will remember forever. Not many can say their cap-and-gown moment included massive Texas alligators named Big Al and Tex.

For Daley, the photos were not just about getting attention.

They were about showing the world the animals she works with, the career path she cares about, and the kind of life she is stepping into after graduation.

Most graduates pose with flowers.

She posed with gators.