A photographer managed to capture the moment a squirrel appreciates the beauty of a flower.
The work of the Dutch photographer Dick Van Duijn is very popular, with over 180K Instagram followers from all over the world. Recently, he has been causing waves on the internet with his endearing pictures of ground squirrels smelling flowers.
He explained that he saw pictures of these cute animals from other photographers and wanted to photograph them himself. He loves flowers and animals, so he tried to combine them.
He added that he always attempts to capture nature in its most unaffected form. He never thought he would have the opportunity to capture a precious moment like this one when he went to Austria to take pictures of squirrels.
He recounted that he observed them and their behavior on the first day. The next day, he photographed them the whole day.
The 34-year old professional photographer had taken hundreds of pictures before this one. The images series showed small ground squirrels examining the field to find the best flowers to eat.
However, one picture in particular has recently caught everyone’s eye.
In the evening, just before sunset, when the light became soft and nice, one of the many ground squirrels walked towards the yellow flower. It stopped at a yellow daisy, leaned in, smelled it, and even appeared to hug it. It even closed its eyes as it inhaled the floral aroma, and moments later, Van Duijn admitted that it leaned in to take a tasty bite.
Van Duijn was very happy to witness and capture such a moment.
He said that once he saw this happening in the viewfinder of his camera, he already knew he had captured a very beautiful and intimate moment.
The photo series was posted on Instagram, with the caption “Smells like Summer.”
Flowers use their scent to attract various insects and small animals to carry around their pollen and help them reproduce. They entice any passing pollinator to stop and take a whiff by responding to their airborne sounds, and thus ensure their longevity as the more pollen they are able to disburse, the higher their chances of survival.
In this case, it is a win-win situation. The daisy got to reproduce, the squirrel got a tasty treat, Van Duijn got a fascinating photo shoot, and we got the opportunity to enjoy it!
