Though this appears to be a magnificent animal recreation of Jasmine’s magic carpet trip from Disney’s classic Aladdin, the shot is real, and the truth behind it is a little darker.
Martin Le-May, an East London hobby photographer, captured these images of a woodpecker and a newborn weasel struggling for their life above Hornchurch Country Park.
According to Le-May, he and his wife were walking in the park when they heard and subsequently observed the altercation. When the bird soared directly over them, they noticed it had a little creature on its back, and that’s when he took these photos.
Weasels enjoy robbing nests, but this one was most likely targeting the woodpecker itself. In any event, he appears to have been thwarted for the time being. “The woodpecker left with its life,” Le-May wrote. “The weasel simply vanished into the deep grass, hungry.”
