Baby weasel hitches a ride from a woodpecker
This incredible image looks like it’s been photoshopped – but is has not! The truth is that this almost comical sight is actually a life and death struggle.
The moment was captured by amateur photographer Martin Le-May in a London park earlier this week. Le-May and his wife, Ann, were on a walk in Hornchurch Country Park, hoping to see a green woodpecker.
Well, they saw one, but it was hopping along the ground unnaturally. The Le-Mays watched the bird with their binoculars for a few moments, before Martin pulled out his camera, and realised just what was happening. The small creature you see “riding” the woodpecker is actually a baby weasel. Weasels usually prey on smaller rodents, but have been known to attack woodpeckers.
But this baby bit off a little more than it could chew. The woodpecker was able to shake the weasel off and fly away out of reach.