A clout-chasing Louisiana man is now possibly in legal trouble, after he risked his life for internet points by jumping into an alligator exhibit at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.
In a video posted on June 1 to his TikTok account, “nano-influencer” Jacob Ryan Pursifull can be seen inside the park’s American Alligator exhibit, which is separated from guests by two fences and features gators up to 15 feet long and weighing up to 1,000 pounds.
“Another wild Karen, crikey,” Pursifull says while guests can be heard asking him to exit the exhibit.
@sneakyjupa Youtube: Jupa6 #foryou #fyp #alligator #steveirwin #kidjumpsingatorexhibit #buschgardens #tampa #florida #crocodile #viral #trending #crazy #xyzbca #jupa #karen ♬ original sound – Jupa
A spokesperson for Busch Gardens told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that the incident occurred on Wednesday, May 31, and no one was injured.
“On May 31, a guest violated park policy with complete disregard for the safety of himself, our employees and our animals by jumping two fences and entering one of our animal habitats despite clear ‘do not enter’ signage and multiple barriers indicating it was a restricted access area,” said the park in a statement .
“Our security and animal care teams responded immediately. No injuries were sustained by the guest, our employees or our animals. We will not tolerate this blatant disregard of our safety rules and are working with law enforcement on this matter. The safety and well-being of our guests, ambassadors, and animals remains a top priority.”
Pursifull, who goes by “Jupa,” has less than 1,000 followers across most of his various social media channels, and regularly posts “prank” videos, which often involve harassing strangers and getting kicked out of businesses.
Coincidentally, the video was filmed by Tampa Bay influencer Nick Reid, who told WFLA that Pursifull climbed over the barriers to shoot the video, and “caused a huge commotion and got within 5 feet of an alligator.”
The station did not identify Pursifull as the man in the video or note that he is a social media influencer. However, Reid and Pursifull both appear together in a different video uploaded to YouTube on the same day as the Busch Gardens incident.
In the video, titled “I Got Attacked!,” Pursifull is seen wandering around Ybor City picking fights and asking people for blowjobs.
Speaking to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, Reid denies that he was involved with the Busch Gardens incident, but did state that he and Pursifull have mutual friends. “He went wayyy crazy, if you know what I mean, and that’s when I had to step back and choose not to involve myself,” said Reid.
“I definitely think it’s crazy and possibly viral content,” added Reid, “but definitely don’t condone illegal behavior.”
In 2016, an Orlando man was arrested for throwing and killing a flamingo named “Pinky” at Busch Gardens.
This story first appeared in our sister publication Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
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