Pop goes the weasel! Rare glimpse of Britain's smallest carnivore on the hunt

By SIMON TOMLINSON

Heads-up! A wild weasel, Britain's smallest and most elusive carnivore, pokes up through chicken wire on the boardwalk at Grey Lake reserve in Somerset

They are rarely glimpsed even by expert naturalists.
But one photographer was lucky enough to capture these incredible images of Britain's smallest carnivore - and even caught it on a successful hunt.
The wild weasel, related to larger stoats and pine martens, was spotted by Lynne Newton at Grey Lake reserve in Somerset.
Mrs Newton said she wasn't even aware it was a weasel at first.
She said: 'I glimpsed something on the boardwalk and thought it might have been a snail - it was so tiny.
'Then it stuck its head up through the chicken wire and I knew it was a weasel - but it really was so small - just a few inches long.

'I thought it was a snail:' Photographer Lynne Newton didn't realise what she was seeing at first because the creature was so tiny

'I have seen weasels and stoats before - they are beautiful - fantastic hunters.'
As she watched, the tiny creature dived into the undergrowth and emerged a split second later with a short-tailed vole in its jaws before disappearing to eat his lunch. She said: 'It was a fabulous sight. They are such quick, elusive creatures but wonderful to see.'

Predator: The weasel emerges from the undergrowth with a short-tailed vole in its jaws

source: dailymail