Weasel riding a woodpecker is actually trying to eat it. But relax. This ended well. Phew

THIS is the image which is captivating the world today. Baby weasel vs. woodpecker in an airborne death struggle. So who won?

WELL, you could probably say that this is a case of flap goes the weasel.

To be specific, this is a baby weasel riding a woodpecker. Why is a baby weasel riding a woodpecker?

Because it’s trying to eat it, that’s why. Did it succeed in this endeavour? Tell you in a tick.

The remarkable image was captured by an amateur British photographer called Martin Le-May, who was walking with his wife Ann in a park in east London, when he heard a kind of frantic squawking.

ABSOLUTLEY INCREDIBLE photo by Martin Le-May. Green Woodpecker and Weasel. Apparently the Woodpecker escaped. pic.twitter.com/PUt1b2Mbhs

— Jason Ward (@Jayward7) March 2, 2015

“As we walked we heard a distressed squawking and I saw that flash of green. So hurriedly I pointed out to Ann the bird and it settled into the grass behind a couple of small silver birch trees. Both of us trained our binoculars and it occurred that the woodpecker was unnaturally hopping about like it was treading on a hot surface,” Mr Le-May said in an email to Buzzfeed news.

Hi I’m a weasel and I’m really into pop culture.

“Lots of wing flapping showing that gloriously yellow/white colour interspersed with the flash of red head feathers. Just after I switched from my binoculars to my camera the bird flew across us and slightly in our direction; suddenly it was obvious it had a small mammal on its back and this was a struggle for life.”

How did the struggle end? Relax. It ended well. For the bird, anyway. It landed and flew away while the weasel was momentarily distracted — possibly by the human presence.

Is it lunchtime yet? Must be ‘cos I’m feeling a bit peckish.

For the record, weasels mostly eat small rodents like mice but they occasionally raid nests for eggs and will eat baby birds. This weasel, however, may have bitten off more than it could chew.