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
WOMAN'S SKIN TURNED SILVER AFTER TAKING NOSE DROPS

An American woman whose skin turned silver after using nose drops is warning people of the dangers of medicines containing the metal .

CROCODILE CAVE DIVING PENSIONER

THIS DANGER-mad female pensioner could be the oldest Brit to cage dive with CROCODILES .

SPECTACLED BEAR IS CHRISTMAS STAR ON ZOO’S TREE

Most people have an angel at the top of their Christmas tree, but one bear at Chester Zoo decided he wanted to be the star of the show .

A SMILEY GECKO SHEDS ITS SKIN AS HEATWAVE HITS BRITAIN

STRETCHING his little legs in the air, a smiley leaf-tailed gecko breaks free from his old, scaly skin .

WOMAN NEARLY DIED AFTER PNEUMONIA TURNED INTO SEPSIS – HER LUNGS COLLAPSED AND HER LIPS TURNED BLUE

A woman has revealed how she almost died after she developed sepsis from a cold .

ABANDONED CALIFORNIAN GOLD RUSH TOWN

A once bustling gold rush town in Mono County, California now stands completed deserted .

DIGIT-AL ART: HANDY COLLECTION UNVEILED

Here's a collection of art for the DIGIT-AL age as these fascinating illusions of landmarks, places and even a banana are made using just a pair of hands .

TRANS-WOMAN WITH £180K BODY CAN’T FIND LOVE

A transgender model, who has spent £180k on surgery to become a ‘desirable’ woman, has told of her struggle to find a man who is openly accepting of trans-women .

FORGETFUL PARENT’S LIVING TIMEKEEPER

FOR TWO memory-impaired parents their new-born baby Cian is a living timekeeper .

GAME, SET-TEE AND MATCH: COUPLE INSTALL TENNIS COURT IN LOUNGE

A WIMBLEDON-mad couple will be creating a racket this summer - after installing a TENNIS COURT in their living room .

UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP

A brave cricket takes his chances as he sits on top of this green papua tree frog .