As a professional wildlife photographer, it is usually Simon Czapp's job to take photos of animals.
But this fox had other ideas, and thought that it would be a good idea if it took a photo of the wildlife photographer instead.
Simon Czapp visited the New Forest in Hampshire, which is also home to deer, wallabies and wolves and is where King William II was killed by being "accidentally" shot by an arrow in 1100, to take pictures of the newly arrived fox cub Jessie, named after the cowgirl in Toy Story.
A few scraps of food were laid out to entice her over, but was so fascinated by the camera equipment that she started to clamber over it and accidentally snapped two pics of Mr Czapp.
Mr Czapp said: '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.
Outfoxed! Cheeky cub clambers over camera equipment and takes pictures of professional photographer
By Daily Mail Reporter
22nd August 2010
Daily Mail
This clever cub became the ultimate wildlife photographer after outfoxing a professional and taking her own picture as he was snapping her.
The inquisitive five-month-old vixen was so intrigued by the camera equipment she clambered right on top of it.
And while she was supposed to be the subject of the shoot, the cub stood on the shutter release button and took her own frames.
An eye for a picture: Jessie the vixen cub clambers over camera equipment in her pen at New Forest Wildlife Park in Ashurst, Hampshire
Simon Czapp, 25, visited the New Forest Wildlife Park to capture images of new arrival Jessie, named after Toy Story's cowgirl.
She has been rehoused at the animal park in Ashurst, Hampshire - 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 her own performance.
Mr Czapp, from Eastleigh, 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 and one point knocked it over.'
Make it snappy: The inquisitive cub managed to outfox the professional photographer and captured images of him taking her picture
Gotcha: The clever cub managed to press the shutter release button and captured this image of Simon Czapp photographing her
He 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.
Mr Czapp 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.
'I couldn't believe I had been outfoxed by a fox!'
The wildlife park's head keeper, Shanna Dymond, 29, witnessed the impromptu photo shoot.
She said: 'Jessie is a lovely little cub. She is very inquisitive and as soon as we go to see her, she runs up to say hello and wags her tail.
'There were some lovely photos of her but she obviously thought the photographer was worthy of a picture too!'
Jessie and her pen mate, male fox cub Woody, were handed into an RSPCA centre in the spring but were too tame to be released into the wild.
They have an indoor stable to sleep in and an outdoor pen where they have dug a retreat under rocks.
The New Forest
King William II was mysteriously killed in the New Forest in 1100
The New Forest was created as a royal forest by King William I (the Conqueror) in about 1079 for the private hunting of mainly deer. It was created at the expense of more than 20 small settlements and farms. Hence it was 'new'.
According to Florence of Worcester (d. 1118 ), the forest was known before the Norman Conquest as the Great Ytene Forest; the word "Ytene" meaning '"Juten" or "of Jutes". The Jutes were one of the early Anglo Saxon tribes who colonised this area of Hampshire. It was first recorded as "Nova Foresta" in the Domesday Book in 1086, and is the only forest that the book describes in detail.
Two of the Conqueror's sons died in the New Forest. In 1081, Prince Richard, the Conqueror's second son, went into the New Forest to hunt. But during the hunting, Richard was mauled and killed by a stag, leaving his younger brother, William "Rufus" (so-called because of his red-faced appearance), as a claimant to the throne. Richard was buried at Winchester Cathedral.
In 1087, William "Rufus" came to the Throne as King William II. In August 1100, whilst also out hunting in the new forest, William II was killed after being shot by an arrow which pierced his lung. An account by Orderic Vitalis describes the preparations for the fatal hunt:
According to the chroniclers, William's death was not murder. Walter and William had been hunting together when Walter let loose a wild shot that, instead of hitting the stag he aimed for, struck William in the chest. Walter tried to help him, but there was nothing he could do. Fearing that he would be charged with murder, Walter panicked, leapt onto his horse, and fled. It was left to a local charcoal-burner named Purkis to take the king's body to Winchester Cathedral on his cart.
It is a mystery as to the exact cause of William II's death. Rumours abound that his brother Henry may have arranged his murder so he could be crowned king, and that William II may even have been a devil worshipper whose time of death had been set by his knowledge.
But the smoothness of William II's brother Henry’s grab for the throne, being crowned King Henry I just three days after the ‘accident’ is very suspicious to modern eyes.
William's remains are in Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire, scattered among royal mortuary chests positioned on the presbytery screen, flanking the choir
Today, a stone known as the Rufus Stone marks the spot where he supposedly fell.
The inscription on the Rufus Stone reads:
But this fox had other ideas, and thought that it would be a good idea if it took a photo of the wildlife photographer instead.
Simon Czapp visited the New Forest in Hampshire, which is also home to deer, wallabies and wolves and is where King William II was killed by being "accidentally" shot by an arrow in 1100, to take pictures of the newly arrived fox cub Jessie, named after the cowgirl in Toy Story.
A few scraps of food were laid out to entice her over, but was so fascinated by the camera equipment that she started to clamber over it and accidentally snapped two pics of Mr Czapp.
Mr Czapp said: '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.
Outfoxed! Cheeky cub clambers over camera equipment and takes pictures of professional photographer
By Daily Mail Reporter
22nd August 2010
Daily Mail
This clever cub became the ultimate wildlife photographer after outfoxing a professional and taking her own picture as he was snapping her.
The inquisitive five-month-old vixen was so intrigued by the camera equipment she clambered right on top of it.
And while she was supposed to be the subject of the shoot, the cub stood on the shutter release button and took her own frames.
An eye for a picture: Jessie the vixen cub clambers over camera equipment in her pen at New Forest Wildlife Park in Ashurst, Hampshire
Simon Czapp, 25, visited the New Forest Wildlife Park to capture images of new arrival Jessie, named after Toy Story's cowgirl.
She has been rehoused at the animal park in Ashurst, Hampshire - 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 her own performance.
Mr Czapp, from Eastleigh, 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 and one point knocked it over.'
Make it snappy: The inquisitive cub managed to outfox the professional photographer and captured images of him taking her picture
Gotcha: The clever cub managed to press the shutter release button and captured this image of Simon Czapp photographing her
He 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.
Mr Czapp 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.
'I couldn't believe I had been outfoxed by a fox!'
The wildlife park's head keeper, Shanna Dymond, 29, witnessed the impromptu photo shoot.
She said: 'Jessie is a lovely little cub. She is very inquisitive and as soon as we go to see her, she runs up to say hello and wags her tail.
'There were some lovely photos of her but she obviously thought the photographer was worthy of a picture too!'
Jessie and her pen mate, male fox cub Woody, were handed into an RSPCA centre in the spring but were too tame to be released into the wild.
They have an indoor stable to sleep in and an outdoor pen where they have dug a retreat under rocks.
The New Forest
King William II was mysteriously killed in the New Forest in 1100
The New Forest was created as a royal forest by King William I (the Conqueror) in about 1079 for the private hunting of mainly deer. It was created at the expense of more than 20 small settlements and farms. Hence it was 'new'.
According to Florence of Worcester (d. 1118 ), the forest was known before the Norman Conquest as the Great Ytene Forest; the word "Ytene" meaning '"Juten" or "of Jutes". The Jutes were one of the early Anglo Saxon tribes who colonised this area of Hampshire. It was first recorded as "Nova Foresta" in the Domesday Book in 1086, and is the only forest that the book describes in detail.
Two of the Conqueror's sons died in the New Forest. In 1081, Prince Richard, the Conqueror's second son, went into the New Forest to hunt. But during the hunting, Richard was mauled and killed by a stag, leaving his younger brother, William "Rufus" (so-called because of his red-faced appearance), as a claimant to the throne. Richard was buried at Winchester Cathedral.
In 1087, William "Rufus" came to the Throne as King William II. In August 1100, whilst also out hunting in the new forest, William II was killed after being shot by an arrow which pierced his lung. An account by Orderic Vitalis describes the preparations for the fatal hunt:
"...an armourer came in and presented to [William] six arrows. The King immediately took them with great satisfaction, praising the work, and unconscious of what was to happen, kept four of them himself and held out the other two to Walter Tyrrel... saying 'It is only right that the sharpest be given to the man who knows how to shoot the deadliest shots."
During the hunt, the King was accompanied by Walter Tyrrel, Lord of Poix. But it was the last time he was seen alive. William was found the next day by a group of local peasants, lying dead in the woods with an arrow wound to his chest. William's body was abandoned by the nobles at the place where he fell, because the law and order of the kingdom died with the king, and they had to flee to their English or Norman estates to secure their interests. William's younger brother, Henry, hastened to Winchester to secure the royal treasury, then to London, where he was crowned King Henry I within days, before either archbishop could arrive.
According to the chroniclers, William's death was not murder. Walter and William had been hunting together when Walter let loose a wild shot that, instead of hitting the stag he aimed for, struck William in the chest. Walter tried to help him, but there was nothing he could do. Fearing that he would be charged with murder, Walter panicked, leapt onto his horse, and fled. It was left to a local charcoal-burner named Purkis to take the king's body to Winchester Cathedral on his cart.
It is a mystery as to the exact cause of William II's death. Rumours abound that his brother Henry may have arranged his murder so he could be crowned king, and that William II may even have been a devil worshipper whose time of death had been set by his knowledge.
But the smoothness of William II's brother Henry’s grab for the throne, being crowned King Henry I just three days after the ‘accident’ is very suspicious to modern eyes.
William's remains are in Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire, scattered among royal mortuary chests positioned on the presbytery screen, flanking the choir
Today, a stone known as the Rufus Stone marks the spot where he supposedly fell.
The inscription on the Rufus Stone reads:
"Here stood the oak tree, on which an arrow shot by Sir Walter Tyrrell at a stag, glanced and struck King William the Second, surnamed Rufus, on the breast, of which he instantly died, on the second day of August, anno 1100. King William the Second, surnamed Rufus, being slain, as before related, was laid in a cart, belonging to one Purkis, and drawn from hence, to Winchester, and buried in the Cathedral Church, of that city."
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