Yes. That really is a weasel on the back of a woodpecker.
Social media is abuzz with a photo of what appears to be a weasel hitching a ride with a woodpecker, with many asking if the photo is real.
Despite the constant surge of “photoshopped” images constantly doing the rounds on social media, it’s a breath of fresh air to learn that this photo is actually completely genuine, though some of the accompanying captions of “hitching a ride” may be somewhat misleading.
The photo was taken in Essex by amateur photographer Martin Le May at Hornchurch Country Park in east London. However despite the apparent tranquil nature of the photo, it wasn’t a free ride that the woodpecker was offering, rather a struggle for life as the woodpecker tried to fight off the predator on its back.
Le May said of the encounter…
“I heard a distressed squawking noise and feared the worst. I soon realised it was a woodpecker with some kind of small mammal on its back.”
The weasel had attacked the woodpecker which managed to take flight mid-struggle, with the weasel in tow.
The story has a happy ending. At least for the woodpecker. After landing again the woodpecker managed to shrug off the weasel and fly to safety.
“I think we may have distracted the weasel as when the woodpecker landed it managed to escape and the weasel ran into the grass.”
Of course a woodpecker flying through the air with a weasel on its back isn’t the sort of thing that social media humourists will be ignoring in a hurry. In only a matter of hours of going viral a surge of “alternative” photos were released into the wild, the most popular of which involves the Russian president.
Well, of course it did.
And then there were others…
Which one is the funniest? Let us know below…
