I’m ready for my close-up! Inquisitive red squirrel investigates photographer’s camera

By Phil Vinter
PUBLISHED: 11:06, 10 September 2012 | UPDATED: 12:59, 11 September 2012


Looking bright-eyed and bushy tailed this inquisitive little squirrel pulls off the perfect 'startled' look for a lucky photographer.
With its ears poking upwards and mouth wide open the furry forest dweller appears to be captivated by the camera as it perches on a log in Ponteland, Northumberland.
The striking image was taken by photographer Alan Wennington who has developed a close affinity with the animals during a series of close encounters.

Say nuts: This red squirrel stares straight at the camera after it is snapped by photographer Alan Wennington at a car park in Ponteland, Northumberland

Furry focus: This cheeky red squirrel developed a keen interest in Mr Wennington's camera equipment as it stared at its reflection in the display

However, on his latest meeting with the red squirrels Mr Wennington had a nervous few minutes when one of the beautifully-coloured creatures decided to take a closer look at his kit worth more than £1,000.

The incident happened after the photorapher had placed his gear on a tree stump in a carpark.
The young squirrel then crept up and peered at its reflection in the camera’s LCD screen before gripping the lens and biting the strap.

 

Mr Wennington feared his equipment would be damaged as he sat in his car a few yards away taking photographs with another camera.
But he reluctantly stayed put because he did not want to scare the squirrel, which regularly approaches visitors for food.
He said this red squirrel, which was born last spring, was following in the paw steps of its parent who had adopted the dramatic 'startled' pose for Mr Wennington on a previous visit.
He added: 'There were at least three youngsters born this year and they are not nervous at all.
'They know they get fed by visitors and know its feeding time when they see a car parked in the immediate vicinity.
'However, they aren’t keen on sharing food with each other and if more than one of them visits at the same time it usually ends up in a playful chase.'

Mr Wennington watched on nervously as the squirrel nibbled at his camera gear worth more than £1,000

Mr Wennington said he had developed a close relationship with the squirrels over the course of several visits and decided to let nature take its course with his kit, fortunately it was not damaged

The pictures show the squirrel looking at its reflection in the top LCD display on the camera and then having a little nibble to see if it was tasty.
Mr Wennington was in his car with the window down with his other camera ready for other shots when he spotted the squirrel.
He said: 'When it climbed onto the camera I wasn’t overly concerned but when it had a nibble at the corner I was very nervous. I had my heart in my mouth.
'I was about to get out the car and chase it away but I couldn’t.
'I thought of the trust that had been built up between the squirrels, myself and other responsible photographers and decided to take my chances with my gear.
'After it satisfied its curiosity it was chased by another squirrel.
'The two of them were leaping and bounding around the trees and I was worried again as one leapt on and off the camera while being pursued, swiftly followed by the pursuer.
'Thankfully, the camera and lens were completely unmarked.
'The squirrel didn’t want to be in front of the lens - it wanted to examine the camera and check what it tasted like.'
Mr Wennington, from Blyth, Northumberland, added: 'The photographs are amusing. It looks like I have a shooting buddy.'

 

And here's another critter who is clearly not camera shy
This week a second cheeky squirrel stunned a wildlife photographer by peering into the lens of his camera - and trying to snap a self portrait.
Simon Philpotts had only turned his back for a moment during a session spent photographing a new colony of red squirrels near his home in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire. 
But as he headed into a nearby hide to set up some equipment, he spotted one furry-tailed photographer commandeering his camera.
After climbing up the tripod and sniffing about the rig, Simon captured the sneaky scamp seemingly attempting to take a picture of himself - placing his foot on the shutter release and sticking his nose into the lens. 

Say cheese: The brassy red squirrel peers into the lens of Simon Philpotts' camera 

Furry photographer: The inquisitive squirrel adjusts the focus on the lens

Troubleshooting: The squirrel tries to get to grips with the Canon camera controls 

Simon, 38, said: 'We are getting a lot of squirrels at the moment and they are very curious. This little one decided to climb up my tripod and basically try and take my camera apart. At one point it looked like he was trying to take a self portrait.

'He was kind of looking like he was getting ready to set up the shot. Unfortunately I don’t think his little feet were strong enough to set off the shutter button.'

Simon has been taking photos of the red squirrel population in Wensleydale for the last few years following a successful conservation project to boost their numbers in the area.

He said: 'Now we’ve got a really good population in the area, which is nice because the red squirrel is such an iconic British animal.

'They are so intelligent and curious and they are into everything, poking around and exploring anything new. 

Where's the manual? The bold squirrel uses his nose and whiskers to explore the camera's functions

King of the castle: The red squirrel perches on the camera to decide what his landscape composition should be

Photographer Simon Philpotts was amazed to see the red squirrel have a go on his camera in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire

'I took these shots over the weekend and I had initially wanted some wide angles so I set up my camera outside the hide on a tripod. It soon became apparent they were more interested in my camera than collecting food and when I moved away they wasted no time in investigating.

'I watched from the hide as one of them crawled up the tripod and started messing about and when I got the shots home it was my wife who pointed out that it looked like he had been trying to take a picture of himself.
'When I got my camera home it was covered in little muddy pawprints.'

The red squirrel is native to Britain, but its future is increasingly uncertain as the introduced American grey squirrel expands its range across the country.

There are estimated to be only 140,000 red squirrels left in Britain, with over 2.5 million greys.
The main threat to the red squirrel is the poxvirus which has in the past decimated whole populations of the tiny critters.
Grey squirrels very rarely die from this disease as their population has developed immunity having been exposed to the virus for many years; however, they are still carriers of the infection and can spread the disease to red squirrels.

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