AN ADORABLE video shows the moment a mountaineer shared his lunch with a Munro-bagging mouse at the top of one of Scotland’s highest peaks.
Despite snow, ice and freezing conditions at the 3,983ft (1214m) summit of Ben Lawers, Barry McGarahan found himself with a very unusual lunch guest.
The rock climbing rodent happily shared Barry’s snack as he took a break at the top of the Perthshire peak, the highest mountain in the southern Highlands and the 10th highest in Scotland.
Viewers of the video were charmed by the scene – and amazed that a tiny mouse could survive in such a harsh environment.
Barry, from Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, posted the video with the caption: “Lunch at the top of Ben Lawers with a very friendly little mouse for company.”
The video starts with a climber in a green jacket sitting in the the ice and snow.
As he sits eating his sandwich, a tiny mouse can be seen next to him with scraps of food nearby.
The climber in the green jacket watches the mouse, who timidly makes his way across to the food.
The mouse then picks up a scrap and nibbles away, before the video ends.
The clip has captured the hearts of hillwalkers on social media.
Wendy Gibson wrote: “Aww, so cute. Pleased you shared your food. Can’t be easy for those wee critters at this time of year.”
Gordon Smith said: “Great. Hardy wee thing living up there.”
Tommy Christie commented: “That touched me brom, sure you enjoyed the moment.”
Tracy O’Neill wrote: “Awww that’s adorable.”
Christina Potter said: “So sweet.”
Claire Hewitt commented: “Lovely to see. Wonder if it was his first Munro.”
Alison Fraser wrote: “Aw so cute. Good for you for sharing a wee bite with this wee furry beastie.”
Nikky Parry said: “That’s lovely and never seen that before.”
Dave Senior commented: “A hill walker in a previous life.”
Barry, 42, today revealed that he and a pal, Alex, who are both firefighters, tackled the peak on a day off.
He said: “When we got to the top we usually stop for lunch. It was quite windy and freezing cold, so we hunkered down behind some large rocks for shelter.
“As we started to eat our lunch the mouse suddenly appeared from a hole in the rocks next to Alex’s shoulder.
“I threw a little bit of my sandwich on the ground and it came down and started to eat it.
“Alex then put down some of his lunch and I started to film it eating.
“Then it went back up to its hole and Alex put some food at the entrance.
“It came back out and sat eating there next to Alex’s shoulder.
“The weather wasn’t great so we didn’t hang around too long.”
