Salma Waheeb 
Just occasionally you see a wildlife photograph that is so very different from the norm that it stops you in your tracks and forces you to wonder at the beauty and simplicity of nature and all that is around us. Is it any wonder so many more people are now waking up to the fact we really do have to do something to protect this amazing planet we all live on?
Today’s heart-touching images come courtesy of Dutch photographer Dick van Duijn who had traveled to Vienna, in Austria, with the specific task of taking some photographs of the European ground squirrel, which had become endangered and which is now a protected species. After seeing these photographs, who wouldn’t want to protect these cute critters and make sure they will be around for many more years to come.
What is interesting about these images is the controversy that they also created, as many who have seen them have adopted a very negative and cynical attitude, claiming that the setting was “staged” and that the squirrel wasn’t smelling the flower but was, instead, helping itself to some sunflower seeds the photographer had hidden in the flower to attract squirrels. We think that is so sad as we find it impossible not to love these photos, no matter how they were conceived.
How can anyone not like these photos and what sort of person can only see something “bad” in them? They represent all that is wonderful and touching about nature and present an utterly adorable image that will last for a long, long time. Have we all become so cold and pessimistic that we can’t see an image for the good it represents, and instead can only find a reason to complain?
Tell us what you think about these images in the comments below, we’d love to know…