AN AMATEUR photographer has captured incredible images of the leap of a rapid red squirrel leap for food.
Peter Wilkinson managed to snap the exact moment the squirrel took a leap of faith to find nuts at Argaty Red Kites in Doune, Perthshire, on Saturday.
Around half a dozen squirrels were running around the floor when the 57-year-old, from St Madoes, Perth and Kinross, began taking photographs of them.
The project engineer managed to get lucky when he captured one squirrel’s impressive jump while snapping away at twenty frames per second.
A series of images show the animal completing its jump in less than half a second.
One shot shows the squirrel making the initial leap with its front legs fully extended and its eyes focused on its destination.
Two stunning images show the squirrel in mid air as it speeds towards the food table.
Finally, the squirrel extends its front legs again as it prepares to land after a successful leap.
Peter posted the pictures on Facebook yesterday with the caption: “Scotland’s finest athlete!”
The post now has over 1,200 likes and dozens of comments from social media users who were impressed by the rapid squirrel images.
Florence Souliere said: “Wow! That’s awesome!”
Maria Sterling Getchell Champion wrote: “I love how his eyes bulge out!”
Norman Watson commented: “Does he dye his tail?! It rocks”.
And Mary LeFebvre said: “They really are amazingly athletic. Great shot!”
Speaking today (FRI) Peter said: “They were running around the floor and then one or two of them started jumping from a stump to the table.
“When one squirrel approached the stump, I took forty photos.
“I was absolutely amazed I had managed to get the jump from start to finish.
“The camera was going at 20 frames per second, and the squirrel was only in the four frames!”
