Swedish Wildlife Photographer Captures Intimate Images of Curious Red Squirrels

Seeing a squirrel in the wild is always an exciting moment, but we rarely get to see the cute creatures up-close. Most of the time, you might just see a flash of fluffy red fur scurrying up a tree or darting across the forest floor. However, Swedish photographer Johnny Kääpä has earned the trust of his local squirrels, who now curiously approach his camera and pose for snapshots.

Kääpä has spent years befriending red squirrels in order to capture their most candid moments. When he first started photographing them, he used long lenses to capture them from afar, However, now he’s switched to using shorter lenses and even fish eye lenses to document the adorable creatures at close range.

Taken throughout the seasons, Kääpä’s photos reveal the intimate lives of squirrels all-year-round. From foraging nuts to climbing trees, these bright-eyed and bushy-tailed squirrels are certainly busy. However, they have plenty of time for play, too. Kääpä’s photos show how inquisitive they are when it comes to his camera. They come right up and peer straight into his lens, resulting in brilliant portraits that capture their expressive faces in detail.

Squirrels are also extremely agile creatures, and love to jump around between the trees. One of Kääpä’s images in particular captures this characteristic in the most hilarious way. Titled Super Hero, the image shows a squirrel who looks like it just made a landing akin to Superman. The worthy snapshot was one of the finalists in The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, and is sure to bring a smile to your face. In fact, that’s exactly what Kääpä hopes for. He told My Modern Met, “I have a bit of a following on social media and I once calculated that if I make my follower smile for just one second, it's a smile that lasts for three hours, every day.”

Check out Kääpä’s squirrel photos below and join his 16,000+ Instagram followers for more cuteness.