By Madeleine Marr
From Miami Herald
 
MIAMI — Want to feel like a bona fide Floridian?
Go swimming with an alligator.
Yes, this is an actual thing.
Don’t worry. It’s totally, um, safe. A professional runs the show. That would be Chris Gillette, who is best known as one of the stars of Animal Planet’s “Gator Boys.”
The Palm Bay native is a wildlife biologist with cred: He earned a bachelor of science in Environmental Studies with a certificate in Biodiversity Conservation and Management at Florida International University.
More importantly, Gillette is also a professional wrangler for the state of Florida and has been training alligators for years. The animals at the refuge are all nuisance gators, that ended up in places they didn’t belong like backyards, near residential neighborhoods and schools….