Photographer captures backyard visitor jumping for joy over stash of hazelnuts
A leaping red squirrel appears overjoyed at the thought of getting its claws around a photographer's carefully placed hazelnuts.
The hungry rodent was snapped seemingly flying through the air as it used its heightened senses to home in on a nutty snack.
The female was captured by wildlife photographer Edwin Kats in his garden in Nunspeet, Holland, after patiently waiting four hours behind green pine branches to capture the airborne critter.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Mine: Red squirrel appears eager for a tasty snack courtesy of wildlife photographer Edwin Kats
'This is a happy squirrel I call Pretzel who visits our garden. I noticed how agile she was and wanted to capture one of her amazing leaps as she runs,' explained Kats.
'I had to hide in the pines so as not to spook her and then it was a matter of waiting for her to sniff out the hazelnuts,' he continued.
The red squirrel enthusiast admitted it took several failed attempts at photographing the squirrel before he got the perfect shot.
'What really made it was that, at one point, she seemed to smile for the camera. The look on her face is priceless,' he said.
The red squirrel faces extinction in the next two decades as its population has dropped by half in the past 50 years, warn researchers.
Efforts through wildlife biodiversity action plans to save British mammals have failed to halt the decline in numbers of red squirrels, as well as hedgehogs, Scottish wildcats and dormice.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]After waiting for several hours, the Dutch photographer's patience finally paid off
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Red squirrel finds barrel full of nuts after using her acute sense of smell
Red squirrel populations have been hit by invasive grey squirrels, which compete with reds for food and carry a disease which is fatal to their native cousins.
Scientists used to assume that greys - introduced from America at the end of the 19th century - were wiping out the native red squirrels simply because they were stronger and mated for longer each year.
But a study at Newcastle University revealed that reds vanish up to 25 times more quickly in areas where the virus has a foothold.
Conservationists believe the red's best hope is a squirrelpox vaccine. However, it could be several years before a safe drug is available
Wildlife experts think the animals will soon be confined to remote areas of Britain such as the Scottish Highlands.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Leap of faith: The squirrel was captured mid-air thanks to some clever photography
THE ROUTED REDS
Red squirrels have double-jointed ankles to help them climb.
They live as far east as China and up to the Arctic Circle.
Only 20 to 50 per cent of red squirrel kittens survive to adulthood.
The decline in reds is due in part to the squirrel-pox virus.
Greys aren’t aggressive to reds – but they do out-compete the native species for food.
Squirrels are one of very few mammals that can descend a tree head-first.
Wed Feb 13, 2013 4:04 pm