Raccoon rides alligator in photo from Florida's Ocala National Forest

ORLANDO, Fla., June 15 (UPI) -- A Florida man exploring Ocala National Forest has captured an unusual photo of what appears to be a raccoon riding an alligator.

Richard Jones, of Palatka, told several local media outlets Sunday that he and his family were searching the Oaklawaha River for alligators, when his son accidentally startled a raccoon out of its hiding place.

"It must have been asleep because it stumbled toward the water and hoped on top of the gator we were watching," Jones wrote in an email to First Coast News. "I snapped a lucky picture right when the gator slipped into the water and before the raccoon jumped off and scurried away."

Jones said he wanted to share the photo because he "just thought other people might enjoy it."

In a similar incident last March, a London photographer shared a snap of what appeared to be a weasel riding a woodpecker, though he told reporters that the weasel was actually attacking the bird.