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
INDONESIAN TRIBE UNTOUCHED BY MODERN LIFE

An Italian photographer travelled to the highlands of New Guinea where he met an Indonesian tribe untouched by the modern world .

WOMB STROKE SURVIVOR AMAZES DOCS BY TAKING FIRST STEPS

WOMB STROKE SURVIVOR AMAZES DOCS BY TAKING FIRST STEPS - A little girl who suffered a catastrophic stroke in the womb which would have killed an adult has stunned the medical world by learning to walk, talk and see .

VIBRANT TIME-LAPSE VIDEOS CAPTURE BLOSSOMING FLOWERS

VIBRANT bursts of colour fill the screen as beautiful flowers blossom in these time-lapse videos .

MICROBES OR FLAMINGOS

FLAMINGOS from above look like the pink algae they eat .

BOXING DAY SQUIRRELS

BOXING DAY has come early for this pair of feisty squirrels, as their Christmas party quickly turns sour .

MINI BONZAI MODELS - TREE-MENDOUS

These are the fascinating pictures of miniature table sculptures molded around bonsai trees that take up to a painstaking 18 months to create .

DERELICT MANSION

With an abandoned tricycle sitting in an empty corridor, this derelict but once grand mansion could be the setting for The Shining .

CHIPMUNK YOGA

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

CARE WORKER WHO BROKE SPINE IN ‘SHINING’ SEX ATTACK CALLS FOR TOUGHER SAFETY MEASURES

A care worker who broke her spine after jumping from a window to escape a sex attack at the hands of a resident has called for tougher safety measures to protect care staff .

CHEEKY BABY GORILLA

THIS cheeky gorilla tries his best to wriggle free from his mum .

IPAD GAMES FOR KITTIES TURNS THEM INTO PI-CAT-SSO

Is your cat bored? Do his usual playthings simply not do it for him anymore? Not to worry - there's an app for that .

BIG FOOT 'JESUS BIRD'

THIS BIGFOOT 'Jesus bird' may look silly, but he's perfectly designed for walking on water .