Remarkable moment fox frames photographer's shot

A cub outfoxed a professional photographer to take her own picture as he was snapping away at her, producing a series of remarkable shots. The inquisitive five month old vixen, named Jessie after the Toy Story film's cowgirl, was so intrigued by the camera equipment she clambered right on top of it. And although she was supposed to be the subject of the shoot, she became the photographer when she stood on the shutter release button and took her own frames. Simon Czapp, 25, visited the New Forest Wildlife Park in Ashurst, Hants, to capture images of new arrival



She has been rehomed at the animal park, which is also home to wolves, wallabies, deer and otters in 25 acres of ancient woodland, after being abandoned by her mother. Jessie was offered a few scraps of ham to entice her into posing but she quickly became so fascinated by the cameras she put on a performance of her own making. Simon, from Eastleigh, Hants, said: "Jessie was very playful and inquisitive and not at all camera shy. Soon after I arrived she was chewing my shoes and everything seemed to be a game to her. Then she started exploring the camera I had set up on a tripod in her outdoor pen.

"She stood on her hind legs to peer into the lens and then used a tree stump to get a better look at the back of the camera. She balanced her front paws on it and at one point knocked it over." Simon repositioned the camera on the tripod nearer the tree stump and Jessie soon hopped back up. At one point she had all four paws on the camera and was wobbling to keep her balance. Simon added: "She jumped up there several times and I realised it could make a good picture. As I was snapping away with the public's viewing window behind me, I thought I heard the camera go off but didn't think much of it.



"But when I checked the memory card afterwards, I was amazed to see Jessie had actually taken two frames of me photographing her. When she'd stood on the camera, one of her front paws was actually on the shutter release. I couldn't believe I had been outfoxed by a fox. She got lucky because the camera was on auto settings and although I'm not in focus, her reflection in the mirrored viewing window was. She obviously decided she was more important to photograph than me. I just hope she doesn't do me out of a job!"