Like something out of Disney's Aladdin and his magical carpet ride, so rode a baby weasel on the back of a woodpecker? It's so unreal, one would have to question whether or not it was photo-shopped? Particularly in today's cultural climate of having everything we post go viral, how many photos have we seen only to have turned out to be fake?
Martin Le-May, Photographer
Martin Le-May, a hobby photographer in East London, took these photos of a woodpecker and a baby weasel fighting for their lives over Hornchurch Country Park.
According to Le-May, he and his wife were traversing the park, when they came across a fight unfolding between this woodpecker and baby weasel. As fantastic a sight as that was, it became all the more miraculous when the two animals took to the sky.
When Le-May captured this surreal photo, he seemed more surprised in its response by the public, than what actually took place.
"I was so proud so many people are getting to see my image. I'm totally taken aback by the response to it," noted Le-May.
When the two landed, he added: "I think we may have distracted the weasel as when the woodpecker landed it managed to escape and the weasel ran into the grass," added LeMay.
Authoritarian Believers
However it was not only the word of the photographer. Wildlife advocate Steve Backshall agreed that while highly unusual, this is not totally unheard of and viewers have "no reason to doubt the photo."
He then went on to compare the woodpecker to other animals like leaf cutter ants and rhino beetles, which can carry 850 times their body weight.
And on the flip-side he asserted: "The weasel is pretty fascinating as well. It can kill things much bigger than itself, so it's an impressive little creature when you think about its size."
Wildlife expert Lucy Cooke told the BBC News Channel: "This is a truly extraordinary image. The green woodpecker is a ground-feeding bird, but weasels normally attack rabbits. The woodpecker is not its usual prey."
"But weasels are fearless. A female weasel weighs less than a Mars Bar but is as ferocious as a lion, so this is why the woodpecker would have been able to take off with it on its back," added Cooke.
So Readers, your thoughts? Real or Photo-shopped? Weigh in by commenting below.
Primary Source: BBC
