I don’t read too much into this when I see it. I doubt he is actually trying to hide, way too big.

I think he crawled up there and it was shady. Nice place to nap.

They were just sliding around each other a bit too much.

The further one finally slipped under and trouble averted. It’s rare to see a ‘conversation’ unless it’s breeding time.

Mom was close enough to watch the kids, and us.

Young Alligators are prey until large enough to fend for themselves .

For now this little guy was safe.

Is the title here a contradiction ? Not really. And that’s one of the things so fascinating about an Alligator.

Look at the image below.

You can see the slight ripple in front of his nose, a flow of water rolling of his snout. Just a hint of movement. And yet he was swimming towards me to get a better look.

I always use the description curious, it fits best. He was cruising around below, me standing on the trunk above photographing over a marsh.

An Alligators tail is about 50% of his total body length.  A slight flick of the tail pushes him forward very easily. They don’t waste energy doing much of anything. Don’t be fooled though. For a short distance these guys are fast, very fast.