A squirrel's tale

Today's homepage image has a bit of a Beatrix Potter vibe about it. In 1903, Potter published The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, about a cheeky squirrel who taunts an owl with silly riddles until he pushes things too far, narrowly escaping with his life (minus a tail). Potter based Nutkin on the red squirrel, the UK’s only native squirrel species. The red squirrel population saw a steep decline after humans introduced the larger non-native Eastern grey squirrel in the late 1800s.
© Scotland: The Big Picture/Minden Pictures