This Raccoon Rode an Alligator, Because Florida

Richard Jones
Richard Jones

It's not every day you see a raccoon catching a ride on an alligator, even in the Sunshine State. OK, maybe it is an everyday thing in Florida. But still.

The fantastic photo in question was snapped in Ocala National Forest by Richard Jones, a resident of Palatka, who was strolling down the Oaklawaha River with his family on Sunday morning, watching the alligators in the water. Jones' son got closer to the water to grab a better photo (which is definitely a safe move to make around alligators) and apparently spooked the raccoon, causing it to scurry aboard one of the nearby gators.

In an email to WFTV, Jones said "I snapped a lucky picture right when the gator slipped into the water and before the raccoon jumped off and scurried away. Without the context you'd think the raccoon was hitching a ride across the river."

Naturally, Jones' raccoonigator photo was posted to Reddit yesterday, sans context, resulting in some truly excellent comments: