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Texas A&M Student Takes Graduation Photos With Alligator

BEAUMONT (AP) - A soon-to-be Texas A&M University graduate took her senior portraits with a nearly 14-foot alligator in a swamp where both spent the summer.

Makenzie Noland of Abilene posed with the huge gator -- named Big Tex -- and posted the pictures on her Facebook page to mark her coming graduation Friday in College Station.

Noland is a wildlife ecology major who has been interning at Gator Country Adventure Park in Beaumont. She included the comment "not your typical graduation picture" with the photos. Noland is seen wearing a Texas A&M cap and banner.

Noland, who is seen standing in thigh-deep water, said that this what she has been doing this summer with Big Tex during shows at Gator Country Adventure Park.

One photo posted online by Noland shows her senior class ring atop the alligator's nose.

(© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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