MacGyver the Lizard

MacGyver the Lizard (hatched July 4, 2012)[1] is an Argentine red tegu lizard and Internet celebrity known for his intelligence,[3] friendly personality,[4][5][6][7][8][9] and large jowls.[8] MacGyver has been described as "a good ambassador of the giant lizard world" for his docile and apparently affectionate behavior.[4]

MacGyver the Lizard
SpeciesArgentine Red Tegu
SexMale
HatchedMacGyver
(2012-07-04) July 4, 2012[1]
Punta Gorda, Florida, U.S.
Nation fromU.S.
OccupationInternet celebrity
Known for
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
Weight7.5 kg (17 lb)
Named afterMacGyver[2]
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2012–present
Subscribers51.4 thousand
Total views6.69 million
Updated June 20, 2020
Official website

Background

MacGyver was hatched at Ty Park's lizard farm in Punta Gorda, Florida, on July 4, 2012.[10] He became an Internet sensation later that year when his first viral video, a montage of short clips, appeared on YouTube and received hundreds of thousands of views in the time span of a few weeks.[1] Since the age of three weeks, he has starred in numerous videos in which he appears to come when his owners call his name.[11] He is also regularly seen eating his favorite foods: salmon, eggs, cherries, and grapes,[4][10] as well as cuddling with his owners.[7]

Fandom

MacGyver's videos have received tens of millions of combined video views across YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. As a result, he has amassed a social media following in the hundreds of thousands since first appearing on YouTube in 2012,[4][7] and inspired a fan art hashtag on Instagram that contains pencil sketches, watercolor paintings, photoshops, and various other fan-created works depicting the large red lizard.[7] In July 2016, a fan meetup with MacGyver was held at the San Diego Reptile Supershow.[2][10]

International media coverage

MacGyver has received international coverage from a variety of publications such as Vice Media,[5] BuzzFeed,[7] Business Insider,[12] the New York Post,[13] Rare,[8] The Daily Telegraph,[6] Stern,[14] and as far away as China Times[15] and Okezone.com.[16]

On September 7, 2016, AJ+ released a two-minute video about MacGyver and his owners, receiving millions of views on Facebook.[17]

On September 11, 2016 The Post featured MacGyver for their weekly Pet Instagram Review, making him the first reptile to be featured for the segment.[18]

Television appearances

Snoop Dogg exchange

In August 2016, rapper Snoop Dogg posted a remixed video[22] of MacGyver to his Instagram account which poked fun at him and his owners. MacGyver's owners responded on Facebook, joking that “It appears that Snoop Dogg is trying to get even with me for illegally downloading "Gin and Juice" over 15 years ago – talk about a grudge.”[23]

gollark: So what's your native language? We do have people who know other languages on here.
gollark: Tables aren't really a core component of maths.
gollark: In a really inconvenient and stupid way, but possibly.
gollark: Nobody wants to store coords in strings parsed with weird regexes.
gollark: Well, they would help.

References
  1. Virata, John (April 15, 2016). "Meet MacGyver The Red Tegu Who Acts Like a Dog With Scales". Petcha.com. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  2. 李, 雪 (November 27, 2016). "華女寵物網紅蜥蜴 擁百萬粉絲". World Journal. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  3. Bender, Kelli (December 7, 2016). "MacGyver the Giant Lizard Is the Oddest 'Dog' You'll Ever Meet". People. People. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  4. Cotroneo, Christian (April 19, 2016). "Giant Lizard's Favorite Thing to Do Is Cuddle with His Mom". TheDodo.com. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  5. Bess, Gabby (June 10, 2016). "What It's Like to Live with a Famous Giant Lizard". Vice Media. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  6. Horton, Helena (1 Jun 2016). "This woman and her giant pet lizard are best friends – and an internet sensation". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  7. Krishna, Rachael (1 June 2016). "This Giant Famous Argentinian Lizard Is Relatable AF". London: BuzzFeed. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  8. Grose, Lauren (Jun 10, 2016). "You've never seen a pet like this before – it's a lizard, but it acts like a dog". Rare. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  9. Brennan, Sophie (Jun 1, 2016). "This Woman is BFF's with her Gigantic Pet Lizard". FuzzFix.com. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  10. "About Me". Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  11. "MacGyver Comes When Called - YouTube". Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  12. Christian, Emily (December 1, 2016). "Meet MacGyver, the loveable giant lizard". Business Insider. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  13. "This gigantic lizard steals the covers and eats with chopsticks". New York Post. December 2, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  14. "Die Riesenechse in meinem Bett: ein Reptil zum Kuscheln". Stern. September 14, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  15. 蕭, 義正 (April 21, 2016). "龐大又兇猛的巨蜥 竟被她養的像乖寶寶一樣！". China Times. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  16. Dharma, Silviana (June 2, 2016). "Wanita Karier Bersahabat dengan Kadal Raksasa". Okezone.com. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  17. "The Lizard And His Lady". AJ+. September 7, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  18. Wolfe, Sean (September 11, 2016). "Cold-blooded MacGyver warms hearts". The Post. Athens, Ohio. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  19. "Taegu lizards becoming emerging invasive species". wpbf.com. October 9, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  20. "Hungry Animals Enjoy Fancy Treats from People". Right This Minute. September 9, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  21. "Giant pet lizard has become a viral sensation for San Diegan couple". 10news.com. December 6, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  22. "Instagram post by @snoopdogg • Aug 12, 2016 at 2:57am UTC". Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  23. "MacGyver the Lizard". Retrieved 17 April 2017.
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