When you’re a wildlife photographer in South Carolina, you’re bound to witness some pretty amazing things. All the proof you need can be found on the social media page of a woman who goes by iheartstorks. The videos she shares feature a wide array of animal friends. But her most popular might be the one that stars a mama gator… and some very special “friends.” From the moment this talented photographer spotted the mama alligator in the water, she knew she had stumbled across a great moment to capture on camera. That said, she couldn’t fully understand her luck until she got a closer look. Nearly hidden in the shadows on top of Mom’s head were some creatures who were tagging along… watch the video below to see them for yourself! You’ll need to look very closely. @iheartstorks Okay soooo I am positively delighted because today I got to see a mama gator swimming with her tiny babies! They were so itty bitty, it was crazy seeing them next to their mom. If you look closely at the video you can see a baby crawling on her head! I also got to hear them chirp for the first time in person. I had only ever heard that in videos. Pretty exciting stuff. I hope I get to keep seeing them so I can watch them grow up. #alligator #reptile #nature #wetbeastwednesday ♬ Death Whistle – Signs of the Swarm Remember what I said about needing to look closely? Yeah, I was not exaggerating in the least! Although full-grown alligators are massive (around 8.5-15 feet long), their babies are oh-so-small. When they first hatch, they’re only 6-8 inches long. Mama Gator Helps Keeps Her Babies so well Hidden, You Could Nearly Miss Them For a while, newborn alligators are quite vulnerable. That means it’s vital for them to stick close to mom, just like those little ones are doing in that video. They’ll slowly gain independence with time, but won’t fully go out on their own for about two years. This photographer hopes to capture as much of that time as possible! “They were so itty bitty, it was crazy seeing them next to their mom. If you look closely at the video you can see a baby crawling on her head!” the photographer wrote. “I also got to hear them chirp for the first time in person. I had only ever heard that in videos. Pretty exciting stuff. I hope I get to keep seeing them so I can watch them grow up.” You can find the source of this story’s featured image here! The post Mama Gator Slowly Emerges From The Weeds, But You’ll Never Believe Who’s Tagging Along With Her! appeared first on InspireMore.