Off goes the weasel: Woodpecker and weasel photographed mid air

A weasel and a green woodpecker have taken the Internet by storm. The ‘one in a million’ shot, captured by amateur wildlife photographer Martin Le-May, shows a weasel riding a green woodpecker, that has gone viral on Twitter and the web, after Le-May first tweeted it. [caption id=“attachment_2135153” align=“alignleft” width=“385”]  The original picture.[/caption] The original photograph has been taken down, but Le-May has kept one tweet about the origin of the picture. The picture was taken  at the Hornchurch Country Park in East London.

Took this picture earlier today. Heard woodpecker in distress, then flew up with Weasel on back

— Martin Le-May (@KingYamel) March 2, 2015

Le-May told slate.com in an exclusive interview that he was alerted towards it when he heard distress cries from his window, and it turned out to be the European green woodpecker. Woodpeckers feed on bugs and ants, and are frequently seen on the ground, Le-May explains. The weasel attacked the woodpecker, flinging itself on to the bird. In an attempt to save itself, the woodpecker took flight with the weasel on its back. The image opens a gate into the various complexities of wildlife photography, much of which the human eye doesn’t understand. The weasel is usually known to be a brazen and forthright animal, and woodpeckers are naturally timid birds. However, the weasel’s act didn’t bear any fruit as the woodpecker managed to escape  eventually, after flying 10 feet above ground. Both animals escaped unharmed. A debate on twitter sparked off about whether the image is real or not.

Do you think this picture is real? Taken by Martin Le-May #WeaselPecker pic.twitter.com/dr3VJ2u98p

— John Robbie (@John_C_Robbie) March 4, 2015

@702JohnRobbie exactly how small do weasels get? looks real but logic disagrees.

— SAD (@SADOLK) March 4, 2015

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However, Hany Farid, a professor of computer graphics at Dartmouth University explains how it is practically impossible to forge the image in an interview with National Geographic. “This would have required a nearly perfect and coincidental alignment of the two animals in their original photos so that they could be composited together,” said Farid. “This type of forgery is therefore more difficult to create than, for example, two animals simply standing side-by-side.” Here are some of the responses to the image on twitter:

It’s a bird, it’s a weasel. It’s next on #AC360 #WeaselPecker pic.twitter.com/S7KS9BuWZd

— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) March 4, 2015

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In need of my very own giant pecker to fly me to different locations! #WeaselPecker

— Amlas Rihga (@Amlas_Rihga) March 4, 2015

There is absolutely NOTHING not to love about#WeaselPecker

— Sarah Kocsis (@SarahK0csis) March 4, 2015

The image also sparked off a host of funny memes, and photo-shopped images, of different celebs riding the woodpecker. Here are some of the most popular ones:

Putin's latest PR shoot #WeaselPecker pic.twitter.com/kveSI00eIa

— james abraham (@_jamesabraham) March 3, 2015

What do you see? Weasel and woodpecker or white and gold? pic.twitter.com/aHZrWnH24D

— The Poke (@ThePoke) March 3, 2015

I came in like a #WeaselPecker pic.twitter.com/9pkVciT9t4

— The Poke (@ThePoke) March 3, 2015

John Travolta is all over the weasel and the woodpecker pic.twitter.com/HMxoDInWbh

— Elliot Wagland (@elliotwagland) March 3, 2015