Wally, the emotional support alligator that allegedly inspired Loki's alligator variant in the MCU series' first season - aka "Alligator Loki" - has gone missing.
Wally's owner, Joie Henney, revealed the news in an emotional TikTok video last weekend. Henney said someone stole the alligator early in the morning while they were visiting friends in Georgia.
@wallythealligator Wally is missing.
♬ original sound - Wally
A Facebook post a day later revealed that those who apparently stole Wally left him outside someone's home. When the homeowner discovered Wally, they called the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The agency then contacted a trapper who released Wally in a swamp "with about 20 other alligators."
"The swamp is very large and the trapper said the chances of them finding Wally is slim to none. But this is Wally…..Joie and friends are currently headed to the swamp to search and will continue daily," the Facebook post reads. "We just pray with other alligators present that Wally is ok."
Wally went viral around 2019 for being an unconventional emotional support animal. According to the York Daily Record, Henney received Wally from a friend in 2015. After realizing the alligator had a calming effect on individuals, Henney registered Wally as an emotional support animal.
Wally has become a social media phenomenon, with his own social media accounts on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, showing the animal visiting people to spread love and hug adoring fans.
Wally also apparently inspired the character Alligator Loki on the Disney+ series Loki. Though it has never been confirmed by Marvel, Loki writer and producer Eric Martin wrote on X/Twitter that Wally was a "real world visual reference" for series creator Michael Waldron when designing the Alligator Loki variant. However, Waldron has never gone on record to confirm this, and the tweet has since been deleted.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
