As ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, "In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous.”
When I heard the tale of this unsuspecting woodpecker and a skyjacking weasel, I instantly knew this was one of nature's truly marvelous moments.
In an East London park, Martin Le-May, a hobby photographer, and his wife were enjoying a leisurely walk, birdwatching, and snapping photos.
Suddenly, they were amazed to see a green woodpecker fly past — with a baby weasel atop his back. But this little rodent wasn't hitching an innocent ride; he was working hard for a fly-by lunch.
Weasels, though slender and very cute, are tremendously skilled hunters and notorious nest robbers. But obviously, this little weasel's eyes were bigger than its stomach, as he lost this ambitious meal. The woodpecker landed and, after a quick tussle, the weasel scampered away.
Though this story and its images are shocking, it's actually nothing new to the animal kingdom. Did you know that weasels have been documented "riding" birds since the 13th century? These amazing illustrations, depicting "fight-and-flight," date back to the 1200s.
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"The bird flew across us and slightly in our direction; suddenly it was obvious it had a small mammal on its back," said Le-May.
Le-May scurried to capture the moment as he and his wife watched on, completely in awe. "This was a struggle for life," Le-May said.
The bird finally landed, but his fight still wasn't over! The scrappy weasel continued his hunt, and the two fought.
Le-May and his wife might have distracted the hungry weasel, because finally, the bird managed to break free and fly away.
This particular woodpecker got lucky — but, according to Medieval manuscripts, weasels have been hunting within the bird kingdom for centuries.
These weren't any ole birds, either! These manuscripts actually depict basilisks, a terrifying half-bird, half-reptile beast infamous for its lethal glance.
In medieval lore, the only creature strong and smart enough to defeat this winged monster was the weasel!
Of course, we now know that basilisks were completely fictional, a product of the overactive imaginations of Medieval Europe.
It seems weasels have always had a reputation of fearlessness, and this lucky little woodpecker has lived to tell the tale!
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