(Newswire.net — March 4, 2015) — It is common thing that various unbelievable moments caught on the camera are actually retouched in Photoshop. There are, however, those that are unique and original, such as a woodpecker flying through the woods carrying a weasel on his back.
The author of the famous ‘Air-Packer’ photo, amateur photographer Martin Le-May from Essex, revealed to BBC News how he managed to catch the moment when the woodpecker took flight with a weasel on its back.
While he was out walking with his wife Ann, he heard a “distressed squawking noise and feared the worst,” Le-May told BBC News.
“I soon realized it was a woodpecker with some kind of small mammal on its back,” he said. He explained that woodpecker flew approximately 15 yards before landed with weasel on his back. At that moment, the weasel jumped off and woodpecker flew away in the woods.
“I think we may have distracted the weasel as when the woodpecker landed it managed to escape and the weasel ran into the grass.”
Mr Le-May said he didn’t expect the reaction to the picture on social media, but millions of people saw the photo while it was retweeted and shared several thousand times.
“I’m proud so many people are getting to see my image. I’m totally taken aback by the response to it,” Le-May said.
By his appearance on BBC, nature lover from Essex, Martin Le-May, confirmed the photography is authentic, as many commented it has been Photoshoped. However, some expert wild life photographers, say the photo is one in a million.
“The green woodpecker is a ground-feeding bird, but weasels normally attack rabbits. The woodpecker is not its usual prey, but weasels are fearless,” wildlife expert Lucy Cooke told the BBC News Channel.
“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,” she explained.
Wildlife presenter Steve Backshall says he has “no reason to doubt” the photo. He compared the woodpecker to other animals like leaf cutter ants and rhino beetles, which can carry 850 times their body weight, he told BBC News.