Man snaps photo of raccoon riding alligator

PALATKA, Fla. – A Palatka man enjoying a day with his family in the Ocala National Forest snapped the picture of a lifetime.

Richard Jones said he and his family were walking along the Ocklawaha River watching alligators warm up in the morning. He said his son went through some palm fronds to catch a different angle and scared a raccoon that must have been sleeping nearby.

Jones said the raccoon stumbled toward the water and hopped on top of an alligator they had been watching.

Jones said he snapped "a lucky picture" just before the gator slipped into the water and the raccoon jumped off and scurried away.

"Without the context you'd think the raccoon was hitching a ride across the river," Jones wrote in an email to media outlets. "Pretty amazing. Definitely the photo of a lifetime."