Crasher Squirrel
Photographer: Melissa Brandts
Date: 2009
Location: Lake Minnewanka, Banff, Canada
In 2009, Melissa Brandts and her husband Jackson were on vacation in Banff National Park, Canada. They set their camera on self-timer on a rock beside Lake Minnewanka, intending to photograph themselves with the scenic lake behind them. A curious ground squirrel (Urocitellus columbianus) popped up in the foreground just as the shutter fired, photobombing the image with what appeared to be an alert, cheeky expression. The Brandts submitted the photo to National Geographic's 'My Shot' contest, where it went viral. The 'Crasher Squirrel' became one of the earliest major internet memes involving photo-bombing animals and was subsequently photoshopped into dozens of famous photographs and historical images.
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