Weasel photographed riding on a woodpecker’s back

Amateur photographer Martin Le-May, from Essex, has recorded the extraordinary image of a weasel riding on the back of a green woodpecker as it flies through the air.

一只鼬鼠骑在啄木鸟背上，在空中飞过。来自艾塞克斯的业余摄影师马丁·勒梅记录下了这一不用寻常的瞬间。

The photograph was taken at Hornchurch Country Park in east London on Monday afternoon.

该照片于本周一下午摄于洪彻奇公园。

Speaking to BBC News, Mr Le-May said he had managed to capture the moment while he was out walking with his wife Ann.

勒梅线上接受BBC采访时，表示他与妻子安散步时，设法捕捉到了这一瞬间。

He said: "I heard a distressed squawking noise and feared the worst.

他说：“我听到一阵凄厉的叫声，担心会出现最糟糕的情况。”

"I soon realised it was a woodpecker with some kind of small mammal on its back.

“随后我就看到一只啄木鸟，背上驮着一只哺乳动物。”

"I think we may have distracted the weasel as when the woodpecker landed it managed to escape and the weasel ran into the grass."

“我觉得可能是我们惊扰到了这只啄木鸟，啄木鸟落地之后设法摆脱背上的鼬鼠，鼬鼠也窜进了草丛。”

Mr Le-May said he was astounded by the reaction to the picture on social media.

这张图片在网上引起的轰动，让勒梅很吃惊。

The wildlife shot has been retweeted several thousand times

目前这张照片已经被转载了数千次。

Martin Le-May: "It’s almost a dream that you take a photograph that lots and lots of people not only look at but like". He said; "I’m so proud so many people are getting to see my image. I’m totally taken aback by the response to it."

勒梅说：“你拍了一张照片，很多人不仅是看看还非常喜欢它，这真如梦一般美妙。”他说：“这么多人看我的作品，我非常骄傲。看到一些回应之后，我也大吃一惊。”

Wildlife expert Lucy Cooke told the BBC News Channel: "This is a truly extraordinary image.The green woodpecker is a ground-feeding bird, but weasels normally attack rabbits. The woodpecker is not its usual prey. But weasels are fearless. A female weasel weighs less than a Mars Bar but is as ferocious as a lion, so this is why the woodpecker would have been able to take off with it on its back."

野生动物专家露西·库克接受BBC新闻频道采访时说：“这真是一张非凡的照片。绿色的啄木鸟经常在地上觅食，鼬鼠则会攻击兔子，啄木鸟并非寻常猎物。但是鼬鼠是无畏的。雌性鼬鼠体重不及一个马尔斯巧克力棒，但却如狮子般凶猛，这也是啄木鸟能驮得起鼬鼠的原因。”

Wildlife presenter Steve Backshall agrees that while highly unusual it is not totally unheard of and has "no reason to doubt" the photo.

野生动物节目主持人史蒂夫·巴克沙尔也认为这样的图片闻所未闻，但认为照片的真实性“毋庸置疑”。

He compared the woodpecker to other animals like leaf cutter ants and rhino beetles, which can carry 850 times their body weight.

他说，啄木鸟和切叶蚁以及犀牛甲虫一样，可以背负重达自己体重850倍的物体。

He said: "The weasel is pretty fascinating as well. It can kill things much bigger than itself, so it’s an impressive little creature when you think about its size."

他说：“鼬鼠也非常有趣。他可以杀死比自己大得多的动物，因此考虑到它的体积，它也是很了不起的了。”

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来源:爱语吧爱语吧作者:Monica