Images of a red squirrel fighting a pheasant for hazelnuts and bird seed are proof that both creatures can be quite feisty
Red squirrels are sadly rare in Britain today, but proof that they’re anything but timid was shown in photographs shared in the MailOnline this morning.
In the images, a red squirrel is pictured in a “dramatic fight” with a pheasant over some nuts and of it speaking to the paper’s Isabella Nikolic, photographer Louise Phillips remarked:
“I rented the hide [at Blairgowrie, Perthshire] for the day to try and see the red squirrels. The pheasant just sauntered in to get in on the food. There were some hazelnuts but the pheasant was eating some bird seed that had also been left out.”
“The squirrel wasn’t happy with the pheasant in his face. It was the squirrel that attacked first and the pheasant jumped and clawed back in reaction. It lasted just seconds then the squirrel backed off.”
“I think it realised it had bit off more than it could chew. I didn’t quite believe what I saw – I was quite surprised.”
In December 2015, we featured an equally wonderfully wacky image of a great tit posing for a camera manned by a red squirrel and today remind readers of the sporting spirit of these fine creatures.
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