In a hilarious turn of events, a newborn crocodile recently found itself a rather unusual sunbathing spot—a massive hippo! Mistakenly identifying the hippo as a rock, the little snapper decided to take a load off and laid across the hippo’s enormous back, seeking a peaceful resting place.
The clever crocodile stealthily crept up the side of the wallowing hippopotamus and settled comfortably on its substantial frame. Surprisingly, even as the hippo began to move, the young crocodile failed to register the signal and remained in its chosen spot for nearly 15 minutes before eventually making a quick escape.
Despite the three-foot-long creature piggybacking on its back, the three-ton beast seemed unperturbed by the unexpected visitor. Field guide Richard Millar was fortunate enough to capture this amusing moment on camera in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
Richard, a 21-year-old photographer, had just finished photographing the hippo in the water when the curious crocodile appeared on the scene. “I came across this hippo in the water with a heron on its back,” he explained. “Then this small crocodile crept up one of its sides and sat on its back.”
“It must have mistaken it for a rock in the water and just relaxed on it for a while,” he added. As cold-blooded creatures, crocodiles require sunlight to regulate their body temperature and rest.
“In the wild, hippopotamuses and crocodiles are not competitors,” Richard explained. “A hippo may try to bite a crocodile if it believes its young are in danger.” He considered the encounter a once-in-a-lifetime situation, stating, “It was a complete once-in-a-lifetime situation. I’m pretty sure I’ll never see another photograph like that again in my life.”
