<p>A British amateur photographer has recorded the extraordinary image of a weasel riding on the back of a green woodpecker.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The photograph, which has gone viral on social media, was taken by Martin Le-May at Hornchurch Country Park in east London.<br /><br />Le-May said he managed to capture the moment while he was out walking with his wife yesterday.<br /><br />"I heard a distressed squawking noise and feared the worst. I soon realised it was a woodpecker with some kind of small mammal on its back. I think we may have distracted the weasel as when the woodpecker landed it managed to escape and the weasel ran into the grass," he told the BBC.<br /><br />Le-May said the picture has been re-tweeted several thousand times on social media.<br />Wildlife expert Lucy Cooke said: "This is a truly extraordinary image.<br /><br />"The green woodpecker is a ground-feeding bird, but weasels normally attack rabbits. The woodpecker is not its usual prey.<br /><br />"But weasels are fearless. A female weasel weighs less than a Mars Bar but is as ferocious as a lion, so this is why the woodpecker would have been able to take off with it on its back," Cooke said.<br /><br />Wildlife presenter Steve Backshall said he has "no reason to doubt" the unusual photo.<br />He compared the woodpecker to other animals like leaf cutter ants and rhino beetles, which can carry 850 times their body weight.<br /><br />He said: "The weasel is pretty fascinating as well. It can kill things much bigger than itself, so it's an impressive little creature when you think about its size."</p>
<p>A British amateur photographer has recorded the extraordinary image of a weasel riding on the back of a green woodpecker.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The photograph, which has gone viral on social media, was taken by Martin Le-May at Hornchurch Country Park in east London.<br /><br />Le-May said he managed to capture the moment while he was out walking with his wife yesterday.<br /><br />"I heard a distressed squawking noise and feared the worst. I soon realised it was a woodpecker with some kind of small mammal on its back. I think we may have distracted the weasel as when the woodpecker landed it managed to escape and the weasel ran into the grass," he told the BBC.<br /><br />Le-May said the picture has been re-tweeted several thousand times on social media.<br />Wildlife expert Lucy Cooke said: "This is a truly extraordinary image.<br /><br />"The green woodpecker is a ground-feeding bird, but weasels normally attack rabbits. The woodpecker is not its usual prey.<br /><br />"But weasels are fearless. A female weasel weighs less than a Mars Bar but is as ferocious as a lion, so this is why the woodpecker would have been able to take off with it on its back," Cooke said.<br /><br />Wildlife presenter Steve Backshall said he has "no reason to doubt" the unusual photo.<br />He compared the woodpecker to other animals like leaf cutter ants and rhino beetles, which can carry 850 times their body weight.<br /><br />He said: "The weasel is pretty fascinating as well. It can kill things much bigger than itself, so it's an impressive little creature when you think about its size."</p>