great-and-small:

em8ambitions:

The other pictures I found of this strange encounter (captured by photographer Tanto Yensen) are just fabulous.

Apparently, the frogs climbed on this baby croc’s back of their own volition and… there’s really no explanation why, lol.

The unfortunate explanation here for why frogs would do this is simply that they wouldn’t. The frogs in these pictures are Australian green tree frogs, which are not native to the region where the photographer claims these images were taken. It is technically possible that 5 tree frogs escaped captivity and for some reason wandered onto the back of saltwater crocodile, but the much more likely scenario is that this image is 100% staged. This has been a really troubling trend the past few years, and I keep seeing people share these images without any idea of what’s going on with these animals (the worst is that frog riding a beetle one ugh). Beyond just the dishonesty of presenting these photos as organic, there is real concern that the staging and posing process is abusive. It sucks because at first glance they really are so cute, but animals just don’t behave this way in real life. Here’s a really great article that delves into the issue, and outlines why it’s so unfortunate that these images keep going viral- https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/science/whimsical-wildlife-photography-isnt-seems

Quick note: I am absolutely not bashing anyone who has shared or reblogged this image! I know these photos are mostly shared by animal lovers from a place of sincere admiration, I just want to make sure people are aware!