https://www.foxnews.com/science/red-squirrel-fighting-woodpecker-over-nutsBy Chris Ciaccia | Fox News
In nature, it really is survival of the fittest.
Photos of a red squirrel and woodpecker have gone viral after they showed the two animals fighting each other for nuts.
Karen Crawford took the pictures in a forest near Johnsfield, a settlement near Lockerbie in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, British news agency South West News Service reports.
While observing her surroundings, Crawford came upon a red squirrel and placed some nuts for the miniature mammal to eat. Then, a great spotted woodpecker swooped down and became aggressive with the squirrel.
“The squirrels are normally waiting for you to put nuts out for them, but the woodpecker arrived first and had to protect its territory," Crawford, 59, said. “The woodpecker was on one side of the stump feeding on the nuts and as soon as it saw the squirrel it became aggressive towards it.
“The squirrel didn’t back off at first but eventually it knew it had to because it wasn’t going to get anything," the amateur wildlife photographer added. "I have never seen anything like it before. The squirrel had its paw raised and the bird had its beak wide open, it was like they were going to have a fight.”
Karen Crawford, 59, captured the face-off as the pair appeared to be having a row over a handful of nuts on a tree trunk. In the shot, the red squirrel is perched vertically on a tree stump with its paw in the air, as the bird sits on the other side with its beak wide open. (Credit: SWNS)
Perhaps even more remarkable, Crawford admitted she did not even realize she took the photos until she got home.
“I thought 'wow' when I got home and saw the picture and the reaction I have had to it has been really strong," Crawford said. “I normally take landscape pictures but in terms of nature pictures this is one of the best I have ever done.”
Red squirrels, which are found all over Europe and Asia, are officially classified as "near threatened" in certain parts of the U.K., with population estimates ranging between 120,000 and 160,000 in the country, according to the Woodland Trust.
The introduction of grey squirrels from America is the main cause of their decline for three reasons: grey squirrels carry a Parapoxvirus that often kills red squirrels; grey squirrels eat green acorns, decimating the food supply of the red squirrel; and a decline in breeding, the Trust added.
Last month, a wildlife photographer from Arklow, Ireland captured a remarkable image of a red squirrel just before it attacked a grey squirrel.
