14 DAY TRIAL // There's a new photo making the rounds online, and this one is about as cute and as odd as can be. Not to drag out the suspense, the photo, available next to this article, shows a raccoon hitching a ride on the back of an alligator.
Word has it that the peculiar scene was witnessed by a wildlife photographer by the name of Richard Jones just a few days ago, while exploring a local forest in Florida, US, together with his family.
“Had a wonderful morning with the family in Ocala National forest and took an equally wonderful photo,” Richard Jones wrote in a message when sending the quirky image to Florida Times-Union.
“You have my permission to share the photo and use the photo in any way. I don't want anything in return. Just thought other people might enjoy it,” the wildlife photographer added.
What was the raccoon doing atop the alligator?
In his email to Florida Times-Union, Richard Jones explained that the coon was terribly spooked, ran towards the water and jumped on the alligator's back when coming face to face with his son.
When Richard Jones snapped this image of it, the animal wasn't even aware that it was standing not atop a log casually moving downstream but atop a fierce alligator that could have easily killed it.
As soon as it realized its mistake, however, the confused coon jumped off the reptile's back and hurried back to shore. Having safely made it back to land, it disappeared into the nearby woods.
Now, there are some who say that there is no way this photo is real and that Richard Jones must have made up the entire affair. If we're going to be honest here, we have to admit that it all sounds more like a story than something that could happen in real life.
Then again, maybe this Florida man really did witness and photograph a wild raccoon clueless enough to jump on the back of an alligator and try to ride it to escape pesky humans.