Conversely, courtship might
involve elements of play that are often difficult to recognize as such. I observed and photographed a pair
of adult Cuban crocodiles at Zoo Miami performing a particularly unusual behavior at the time of
courtship: the female would get on the back of the larger male, and he would give her a few rides around
the pool (Dinets, 2011). At the time of observation I interpreted this behavior as part of regular courtship,
but apparently it has never been seen in other courting pairs of Cuban crocodiles in the wild or in
captivity, so it could be a form of play developed by this pair during many years of living together. In
Fakahatchee Strand Preserve (Florida, USA) I observed a somewhat similar behavior in a mixed crèche of
hatchling American alligators from two broods of different age: on three occasions in one morning of
observation, a younger alligator took a short ride on the back of an older one (Figure 3).