Raccoon rides an alligator
A raccoon rides an alligator in Florida Twitter

A holiday snap has become an internet sensation after capturing the rare sight of a raccoon riding on the back of an alligator.

Richard Jones was walking through the Ocala National Forest in Florida with his family on Sunday morning (14 June), when his son walked through some palm fronds to get a better picture of some alligators.

He said his son must have startled a nearby raccoon, which jumped on top of an unsuspecting alligator lurking in the water.

"My son went through some palm fronds to catch a different angle and frightened a raccoon. It must have been asleep because it stumbled toward the water and hoped on top of the gator we were watching," Jones told local TV station WFTV.

"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. Pretty amazing," he told the station in an email. "Definitely the photo of a lifetime."

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