Saturday, 2 November 2013

A very tricky Halloween treat: Squirrel with its head wedged in a pumpkin struggles to get hold of some nuts

PUBLISHED: 12:20, 2 November 2013 | UPDATED: 12:20, 2 November 2013

With a treat on offer this clever grey squirrel made light work of a Halloween pumpkin challenge.

The creative creature was caught in the act as it attempted to get nuts from inside a carved pumpkin in West Park, Wolverhampton.

At one point the squirrel even put its head inside the pumpkin, appearing to wear it like a mask.

The squirrel wears the Halloween pumpkin like a mask in this image taken in Wolverhampton's West Park

Photographer Mike Jones used a system of string pulleys and his Nikon D3 camera to capture these entertaining images.

But other crafty squirrels in the park had the last laugh when they stole Mr Jones' lunchtime bagel as he took the photographs.

Casing the scene: With nuts on offer this sneaky squirrel couldn't resist the Halloween pumpkin challenge

He said: 'I got these shots by doing it the old fashioned way, with my eyes and limbs, there was no need for a sensor.

'It took ages to get the perfect shot of the squirrel looking like its head was inside the pumpkin, about three hours in total.

The grey squirrel struggles with the pumpkin, which photographer Mike Jones had suspended from a tree

'I had to tempt them using peanuts and then rig up the pumpkin on string with a peanut inside.

'It was a good shot but then I realised while I was watching the squirrel get in the pumpkin, his mates stole a bagel from my bag.'

Success! The squirrel gets its treat (left) and (right) how Mr Jones set up the challenge to get the pictures

Lisa's World