These squirrels appear to be putting on a frightening pumpkin mask for Halloween.
Snapper Max Ellis of Teddington, London, erected the frightening fruit in his yard to frighten his children who love Halloween.
But the hungry creatures couldn’t help themselves and arrived first.
Max observed that the nut lovers were hesitant initially – perhaps by the frightening faces – but soon got stuck in.
“My children adore Halloween and beg to start decorating the home and carving pumpkins in October,” he concluded.
“Obviously, pumpkins only survive for a few days, so I carved one out of a tiny pumpkin to keep them quiet.
“I figured we might have some fun with it and make it hover spookily in the backyard.
“The squirrels are curious and like to investigate everything I put out there.”
“A floating pumpkin was more exciting than you could have imagined.”
After Max and the squirrels became a web sensation, he began releasing dozens of hilarious videos in his backyard.
And his latest work is proving just as popular in the build-up to Halloween.
He said it takes hours – and occasionally days – to capture the shot, as he has to wait for his subjects to take up the exact stance needed.
Max uses very little retouching in the images, and the squirrels have never been harmed.
He added: “They are probably better fed than any other wild squirrels on the planet.”
