General Chat

A cheeky squirrel in Alberta's Banff National Park has gone viral after stealing the spotlight in a tourist's photo.

Melissa Brandts, who was visiting from Minnesota, had set up her camera on a tripod to capture her and her husband, Jackson, in front of picturesque Lake Minnewanka in May.

"We had our camera set up on some rocks and were getting ready to take the picture when this curious little ground squirrel appeared, became intrigued with the sound of the focusing camera and popped right into our shot!" she wrote.

The ground squirrel became the focus of the picture as the couple faded into the background.

Jackson Brandts took a few more shots using a remote-control shutter.

"A once in a lifetime moment! We were laughing about this little guy for days!" wrote his wife.

The couple submitted the photo to a National Geographic contest. The magazine posted it to an online gallery on Aug. 7.

In less than a week, the Crasher Squirrel, as it's become known, has stormed the internet.

Photoshop enthusiasts have added the furry scene-stealer to family portraits, famous paintings, and even to the top of the Queen's hat with a pile of nuts.

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You have to go here to see the photo:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2009/08/13/squirrel-banff-photo-brandts-geographic.html

and one of the viral photos: the squirrel with Clinton and the gang in North Korea. Then click on "Viral adaptations of Crasher Squirrel" for more.


Just a dotty animal story to end the week. ;)

Saw this in the paper yesterday.
It was so funny, and the squirrel looked so pleased with itself.

Where are the Welshpeople??

There's a coal-mining squirrel. ;)

I'm still looking, Vods, this was the first I'd seen. I was consulting Google news for something serious, and clicked through to it, and then thought - what? squirrel? what was that about ... and went back.



Oh, no. Oh my. No, really. Seriously. It's a squirrel. Just like the one sitting in my window in the afternoon sun eating flaked almonds 5 minutes ago ...



Susan Doyle with squirrel ... I want to see the one on Liz's head ...


ha! I think the squirrel at the Last Supper is my favourite so far. ;)

Janey that's the funniest thing I've seen in awhile. That darned squirrel will turn up in photos all over the world now.

Sue

It was in the Daily Mirror yesterday

Look at their webpage

You know there's a time when I would have been on a 6-month trip to Banff myself for posting this ...

How little of my brain that all obviously occupied - ever!

I've just been looking at some of the other photos - how funny:)))

Sue xx

pesky things they get everywhere lol

Its Alan ... Steve.. Steve... Steve ... its Alan

Okay, now somebody explain Steve and Alan to me!

OK Janey, it's an advert on British tv at the moment for a natural history programme (I think) due to be screened soon.

There's this little furry creature - not a squirrel but something similar - which has been recorded sitting upright and obviously making whatever noise it makes. The recording has been dubbed to make it sound as though it's shouting..........."Alan? Alan? Alan? .........then a background comment that it's not Alan, so the mouth movements alter and it becomes .. "Steve? Steve? Steve?"

Much funnier than it sounds believe me.

I saw that photo of the ground squirrel Janey, they couldn't have set it up if they tried could they? Great photo.

Cynthia it is a meercat isn't it? Or is that another advert?

Explanation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaPepCVepCg&feature=SeriesPlayList&p=0663F5654A7B6C91&index=1

No its not a meerkat Anne, but there are adverts with them in. OH pondered on it being a gopher or somesuch, but it is funny isn't it???

Just as you predicted, it says in the newspaper this morning that some computer whizkids have now airbrushed the meerkat/squirrel so it looks as if he was there at the moon landings and all sorts of other historical landmarks and they've put them on Youtube.

I was in the Rockies 3 years ago and heard a strange chirrupy noise.It was one of those ground squirrels sat just outside the hole at the bottom of a tree.I have a brilliant photo of it.Just like the the one shouting "ALAN" lol

Aha! I was going to go look at youtube for Steve/Alan, and Carol dunnit for me. ;)

There's nothing quite so cute as groundhoggy things. If Glynis were here she'd tell you -- showing her and the clan the sights, and all they wanted to look at was the groundhog come out of its burrow to look at us. ;) A hole at the bottom of a tree, exactly. And to beg food, actually, and there was us with none.

Glynis has pics too, but she's never sent me them. Time for a poke.