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Squirrel Pops Into Pic!
Topic Started: Aug 13 2009, 02:24 PM (289 Views)
Ess
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twirling hippy chick
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An Alberta ground squirrel is poised to become Canada's most famous animal — at least for a week or two — after the creature inserted itself hilariously into a timed photo being taken by an American couple at a lake in Banff National Park.

The resulting image, which features the upright squirrel staring boldly into the camera while the couple laughs in the background, is getting a lot of Internet attention after it was splashed on a host of media websites and newspapers around the world this week.

"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," Minnesota resident Melissa Brandts told National Geographic's website, which selected the shot as its photo of the day on Thursday.

"A once-in-a-lifetime moment! We were laughing about this little guy for days!"

Melissa and her husband, Jackson, were hiking around Banff's Lake Minnewanka when they paused for a photo at the water's edge.

With the timer ticking down, the rodent skittered into the frame. The camera's auto focus shifted to the furry figure at the centre of the scene, still capturing the chuckling Brandts and the picturesque lake and mountain peaks in behind.

By noon Thursday, the spotlight-hogging Lake Minnewanka ground squirrel was popping up in just about every corner of cyberspace.

The picture has made the websites of the Daily Mail and the Telegraph in the United Kingdom, and has apparently even been featured as the photo of the day on a South Korean news website.

Ellen Stanley, vice-president of communications for National Geographic, said the magazine got a laugh from the submitted photo.

"It's such a great picture that we love it and we're excited they posted it up. It's getting lots of viral pickup," she said. "Hilarious."

But in the age of digital photography, questions arise about the authenticity of photographs. A policy statement supplied by National Geographic said the company does not encourage the manipulation of photographs, and while it carefully checks all pictures that run in the magazine, not all online shots are vetted.

Calgary graphic designer Teak Sato looked at the photo on Wednesday and said it would be very difficult to fake a photo of this quality, noting the ground squirrel's hair.

"Hair, in general, when it sticks out like that, to clip the hair out and then put it on something is basically the Holy Grail of photo shop work," he said. "Zooming in on it, it looks authentic. If it is fake, it's totally professional."

Melissa said she's also heard people say it looks too good to be true. "It's real, it's a real picture," she said.

Fame is a far better fate than a Banff squirrel might face in its natural habitat.

A Parks Canada website detailing mammal life in the park notes that the ground squirrel is Banff's "most commonly-seen animal" during the summer months, but that it is also a "valuable prey species for grizzly bears, coyotes, wolves and golden eagles."

With files from the Calgary Herald

© Copyright © Canwest News Service

http://www.canada.com/news/Banff+squirrel+...9605/story.html
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WOW Canada is a Wonderland of enchantments~Bobert
Ess is the Chuck Norris of NS Canada, so anything's possible.~Redundancies
The hippy chick is Canada's coolest! ~Fiddy
HappinEss ~Matilda
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Pez201
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New and improved
:P

Then again, an animal appearing in a tourist photo making the front page of a newspaper... :rolleyes:
"I never said i was the first person..yesh. I admit Pez was the first one to throw a goat" - Fin
Leader of the Canadian Fat Whale Party from 21/5/08 - 29/8/09 and from 1/8/09 when his 48 hour brain fuzz cleared up. :D
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Cowland5
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Baron de Pompous
:lol:

That's awesome!
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Ess
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twirling hippy chick
Pez201,Aug 13 2009
12:36 PM
:P

Then again, an animal appearing in a tourist photo making the front page of a newspaper... :rolleyes:

So? It's a wonderful pic and I'd sure rather see that than some crime scene photo...

You're too grumpy! :(

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WOW Canada is a Wonderland of enchantments~Bobert
Ess is the Chuck Norris of NS Canada, so anything's possible.~Redundancies
The hippy chick is Canada's coolest! ~Fiddy
HappinEss ~Matilda
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Pez201
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New and improved
Ess,Aug 14 2009
06:12 AM
Pez201,Aug 13 2009
12:36 PM
:P

Then again, an animal appearing in a tourist photo making the front page of a newspaper... :rolleyes:

So? It's a wonderful pic and I'd sure rather see that than some crime scene photo...

You're too grumpy! :(

It's just the local newspaper in my home town does a similar thing.

Anywho, a dude got on the wrong side of some bikies and got shot on Highway 1 which got on the front page. :)

:P
"I never said i was the first person..yesh. I admit Pez was the first one to throw a goat" - Fin
Leader of the Canadian Fat Whale Party from 21/5/08 - 29/8/09 and from 1/8/09 when his 48 hour brain fuzz cleared up. :D
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disposablepuppetland
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It's a hoax. Squirrels have been extinct for millions of years.
[align=center]This is what DPL is about - Also known as The Justified Ancients of West-Side - Furthermore known as the Jam
Cartographer of Canada
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Jack Tarr
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Why do I suspect that jDelight is somehow behind that?
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ParrrrTay
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...just a girl in the world.
Minister
Do you think the squirrel could be a finger puppet? :eyebrow:
The Pubs of Parkplace
Delegate, Canada

Long you live and high you fly
And smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry
And all you touch and all you see
Is all your life will ever be
~P.FLOYD


Sail on my friend...
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libcon95
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Not THAT you don't see often! It may have been set up though, put it is neat.
Esteemed Prime Minister of the Patriotic or else Canadien Union.
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Ess
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twirling hippy chick
National Geographic thinks it's real!

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http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/...-banff-pod.html

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 intriqued with the sound of the focusing camera and popped right into our shot!

:D
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WOW Canada is a Wonderland of enchantments~Bobert
Ess is the Chuck Norris of NS Canada, so anything's possible.~Redundancies
The hippy chick is Canada's coolest! ~Fiddy
HappinEss ~Matilda
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Niongor
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disposablepuppetland,Aug 13 2009
10:52 PM
It's a hoax. Squirrels have been extinct for millions of years.

:rofl: Or is that just what they want you to think?

I swear the squirrels are behind the Illuminati :P
"There is no next time: it's now or never!"

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Ess
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twirling hippy chick
Niongor,Aug 16 2009
04:28 AM

I swear the squirrels are behind the Illuminati :P

They're gonna have to kill you, now...
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WOW Canada is a Wonderland of enchantments~Bobert
Ess is the Chuck Norris of NS Canada, so anything's possible.~Redundancies
The hippy chick is Canada's coolest! ~Fiddy
HappinEss ~Matilda
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jDELIGHT
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Fun is the only noise you should hear
photo bombing!

A 21-Skwerl Salute for the Dizzy Twirling Hippy Chick!

"Your only true land based hope are aerodynamically correct goats." JT
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Niongor
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Giver of the *Hi-5*
Ess,Aug 16 2009
06:38 PM
Niongor,Aug 16 2009
04:28 AM

I swear the squirrels are behind the Illuminati :P

They're gonna have to kill you, now...

For this reason, I regularly kill as many as possible :yes:
"There is no next time: it's now or never!"

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Ess
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twirling hippy chick
The Squirrelizer!

http://www.lutralutra.co.uk/squirrelizer/

:rolleyes:
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WOW Canada is a Wonderland of enchantments~Bobert
Ess is the Chuck Norris of NS Canada, so anything's possible.~Redundancies
The hippy chick is Canada's coolest! ~Fiddy
HappinEss ~Matilda
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jDELIGHT
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Fun is the only noise you should hear
my gawd, what have you set loose upon the region, ess?

*goes back to heavy illegal drug use...

A 21-Skwerl Salute for the Dizzy Twirling Hippy Chick!

"Your only true land based hope are aerodynamically correct goats." JT
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Jack Tarr
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I LIKE it!!!!!
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Rylvan
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:rofl:
Chuck Norris Points: 2

28 DAYS LATER: Abraham Weiss ~ 3:10 TO YUMA: Dwight "Bud" Marlowe ~ CANADIAN DOMINATION: Lord Marshal Casder ~ COPS: Jamie Vance ~ CSI: Jesse Vance ~ D&D: Caliban Canivar ~ GUARDIAN SOCIETY: Salvo, Alpha Boy ~ ON THE FRONT: Pvt. Dominic Reardon ~ MEDIEVAL TIMES: Prince Johann ~ SPIES: Leroy Perlman ~ STAR ADVENTURE: WO Andre Lanter ~ STRANDED: Justin Vance ~ SUPERNATURAL: Rhett Van Sprang ~ TIMESPLITTERS: Spc. Jeremiah "Rookie" Vance ~ WILD LIFE: Rex
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Ess
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twirling hippy chick
jDELIGHT,Aug 19 2009
03:22 PM
my gawd, what have you set loose upon the region, ess?


:shifty:


Quote:
 
*goes back to heavy illegal drug use...


*stays with heavy illegal drug use*

:P


Jack Tarr,Aug 19 2009
03:36 PM
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I LIKE it!!!!!

Can't see... :(
Posted Image
WOW Canada is a Wonderland of enchantments~Bobert
Ess is the Chuck Norris of NS Canada, so anything's possible.~Redundancies
The hippy chick is Canada's coolest! ~Fiddy
HappinEss ~Matilda
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Rylvan
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The squirrel has invaded JT and jD's avs.
Chuck Norris Points: 2

28 DAYS LATER: Abraham Weiss ~ 3:10 TO YUMA: Dwight "Bud" Marlowe ~ CANADIAN DOMINATION: Lord Marshal Casder ~ COPS: Jamie Vance ~ CSI: Jesse Vance ~ D&D: Caliban Canivar ~ GUARDIAN SOCIETY: Salvo, Alpha Boy ~ ON THE FRONT: Pvt. Dominic Reardon ~ MEDIEVAL TIMES: Prince Johann ~ SPIES: Leroy Perlman ~ STAR ADVENTURE: WO Andre Lanter ~ STRANDED: Justin Vance ~ SUPERNATURAL: Rhett Van Sprang ~ TIMESPLITTERS: Spc. Jeremiah "Rookie" Vance ~ WILD LIFE: Rex
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