I'M READY FOR MY CLOSE UP NOW, MR NUTKIN

Red squirrels are well known for their intelligence and curiosity but when one snapper caught this furry little guy trying to take his own self-portrait he couldn't help but be taken aback. Professional wildlife photographer Simon Philpotts had only turned his back for a moment during a session spent snapping a new colony of red squirrels near his home in Wensleydale, North Yorks. But as he headed into a nearby hide to set up some equipment, he spotted one furry-tailed photographer commandeering his camera. After climbing up the tripod and sniffing about the rig, Simon captured the sneaky scamp seemingly attempting to take a picture of himself - placing his foot on the shutter release and sticking his nose into the lens. Simon, 38, said: "We are getting a lot of squirrels at the moment and they are very curious. This little one decided to climb up my tripod and basically try and take my camera apart. At one point it looked like he was trying to take a self portrait.

Other great stories
ABANDONED CARE HOME LIES FORGOTTEN

BEHIND the doors of this building, with its stacks of mattresses and discarded remains of wheelchairs, lies another victim of austerity cuts .

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: SWIMMING WITH SHARKS

Armed with a snorkel, flippers and her skimpy bikini, an intrepid female free diver swims alongside an array of reef sharks .

GIRL BEATS ANOREXIA AFTER MUM PLANS FUNERAL

A teenager has beaten anorexia after becoming so ill that her mum planned her funeral .

PHANTOM PREGNANCY NEARLY STOLE MY BABY DREAM

A young mum has told how a phantom pregnancy almost destroyed her dream of having a second child .

CHIPMUNK YOGA

ARM extended and head flung back, this little chipmunk performs a loose-limbed yoga move .

SHARK WHISPERER BALANCES SHARK IN HIS HAND

Pic By Graham Gibson/ HotSpot Media - SHARK HYPNOTIST BALANCES SHARK IN PALM OF HIS HAND- In Pic - Diver Tom and Caribbean reef sharks in the Bahamas- A SHARK hypnotist balances these predators in the palm of his hand by sending them to sleep with a gentle nose rub .

KITTEN IN WHEEL

A panic stricken kitten that got her head stuck in a car tyre has been freed by quick thinking RSPCA staff .

WOMAN TOO SCARED TO LEAVE HOUSE AFTER HORROR HAIR DYE REACTION

A woman who suffered from an allergic reaction to hair dye that made her face swell to twice its size has been left too scared to leave the house .

SUPER FROG - FLYING FROGS TAKE OFF

LIKE SUPERMAN carrying a slimy Lois Lane through the air this frog is treating its mate to a flying lesson .

BODYBUILDER SQUIRREL

FLEXING his muscles and staring straight at his opponent, this bodybuilding squirrel is the nuts .

NINJA RED SQUIRREL

A NINJA red squirrel cuts a dashing figure as the little fella jumps up to ten-feet between treetops in the Yorkshire Dales .