Sweet squirrel swims for supper! Stunning photos show animal's battle to get an acorn
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Stunning photos captured a red squirrel's journey across a Yorkshire pond to reach an acorn for its supper.
The small animal dipped its nose into the water to reach the acorn as it bobbed above the surface.
But after realising the food was too far it decided to take the plunge – entering the pond and swimming towards it with its tail acting as a rudder.
Finally, the squirrel reached the nut, clasping it in its claws and bringing it safely back to land to devour.
The scene was captured by wildlife enthusiast Alan Benson who watched on from a hide in Hawes, North Yorkshire.
He said: 'I was sat in a hide all day watching and waiting for the reds to come in close to a pool. To see it so close as it retrieved a nut was fantastic.'
Red squirrels were once common in the UK, but the introduction of the grey squirrel from North America almost wiped out the native species.
Grey squirrels carry a pox virus which they are immune to but which is deadly to red squirrels.
The total UK population is now thought to be as low as 120,000.
The small animal dipped its nose into the water to reach the acorn as it bobbed above the surface
Finally the squirrel reached the nut, clasping in its claws and bringing it safely back to land to devour
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