So how did this picture happen?

It was an unusual sight to encounter
on a stroll on a dull day in March.
A strangled, distressed squawking and a flash of green grabbed the attention of Martin Le-May and his wife Ann as they walked around Hornchurch Country Park, Greater London in the UK.
Hiding behind a tree with binoculars to
get a better view, the pair was stunned
to witness a ferocious tussle between
a green woodpecker and a weasel.
And then something amazing
happened: the woodpecker took flight
with the weasel clinging onto its back.
The photographs capturing the moment are extraordinary. They’ve been shared thousands of times on social media and have been picked up by a plethora of news outlets. But how
extraordinary was the event itself, and
what exactly was going on?
Unlike many other woodpeckers,
[green woodpeckers] spend a lot of time feeding on the ground on ants around ants’ nests... The weasel will hang around and wait for an. opportunity to eat sort of anything that they can “I’ve never seen anything like it,” says Dr Stuart Marsden, reader in
Conservation Ecology at Manchester
Metropolitan University in the UK, who
has studied green woodpeckers
extensively.
Weasels are ferocious predators that
usually predate mammals – they can
take on animals bigger than
themselves and often eat rabbits. But
it’s more unusual for them to attack
birds.
“I wouldn’t think that woodpeckers are
often taken,” says Dr Marsden. But
woodpeckers are ground birds.
Weasels go after their eggs and
babies, and sometimes adults that are
trying to defend the nest.
He thinks the woodpecker was
probably feeding in the grass when it
was ambushed. The birds’ diet is
mainly ants.
“Unlike many other woodpeckers, they
spend a lot of time feeding on the
ground on ants around ants’ nests."
“The weasel will hang around and wait
for an opportunity to eat sort of
anything that they can eat.
“They are really vicious and clever,”
he adds.
“Unfortunately it’s gripped on here and
it’s been taken for a ride.”
Naturalist and broadcaster Iolo
Williams told the BBC: “These are
truly amazing photographs. It’s worth
remembering that weasels have a
truly catholic diet – I’ve seen them
taking fully grown rabbits.
“They are incredible predators, so I
don’t think it’s that remarkable that
one tried to take a woodpecker.
“What is remarkable was that it was
captured on camera.”

Weasel vs woodpecker
Green woodpeckers grow to around
32cm (12.5in) in length while male
weasels measure around 20-22cm
(7.9-8.6in) and females reach
15-18cm (5.9-7in)
In weight, green woodpeckers vary
from 180 to 220g (5.6-7.8oz), while
adult weasels usually weigh between
106-131g (3.7-4.6oz) for males and
55-69g (1.9-2.4oz) for females.
Dr Marsden told BBC Earth: “For a bird
like that to take off from the ground, to
lift itself off the ground with a heavy
[load] on its back is quite impressive
really.”
source http:// www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150303-weasel-riding-woodpecker

NOW I BELIEVE THE END IS NEAR...