Shropshire Star

Shropshire wildlife photographer spots rare white squirrel

[gallery] Steve Hole is used to photographing rare animals on his tiger-tracking expeditions in India – but this rare white squirrel turned up much closer to his home in Shropshire.

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The striking squirrel which, unlike most albino animals, has blue eyes, was snapped when Steve was out and about with his camera while he was back in the county.

He splits his time between Shifnal and his second home in India, where he is more used to snapping tigers, leopards and sloth bears.

Steve Hole has developed a passion for wildlife photography

Steve said: "It's a rare thing in Shropshire.

"I have spoken to lots of wildlife people and they have never seen one.

"It stands out quite a bit."

To avoid the squirrel's habitat being disturbed by lots of people searching for it, Steve will only say that he snapped the image on land "somewhere between junction three and four" of the M54.

He said: "I am very much on the side of wildlife and I don't want it disturbed by lots of people going to try to find it.

"It just looks like a normal squirrel but as soon as you go near it, it's off.

"Its eye colour looks blue, whereas albinos are usually red. It has got a touch of grey on its ears.

"It's beautiful to see."

Steve, 55, a retired company director, is used to snapping far more dangerous species when he heads to his second home in the village of Mocha Kanha Kisli in Madhya Pradesh state in India.

He fell in love with the area on a visit there several years ago and decided to build his own house, called Misty Meadows, and now splits his time between India and Shifnal.

He has captured some stunning images of big cats, exotic birds, elephants and bats, among others, while out and about on his travels.

He was even a registered driver for a while, taking visitors into the jungle on expeditions, but decided to concentrate on his own photography instead.

He puts his fascination with wildlife, and tigers in particular, down to a television documentary he watched many years ago.

He said: "It all started with a David Attenborough programme I watched years ago about a tigress and her cubs. I got hooked.

"I went on a trek and fell in love with the place and decided to build a house there.

"I have been going back for 14 years.

"My back garden in India is tigers and lions and bears – I live there for half of my life. When I come back here I get very different shots, but it's really all still wildlife.

"One of my guides is from the jungle and I go trekking with him.

"I have been to nearly every tiger reserve in India, and I have got a pretty good broad knowledge of them.

"When I get back here I am always looking for a different shot.

"It's a time-consuming thing, you have to sit and be patient and a lot of people want to move on quickly.

"I have got the patience to sit there and wait for the ultimate shot."

He added: "I was the only white registered driver in Kanha, taking tourists to see all the wildlife in the reserve. I have since given that up in favour of photography.

"I track tigers, leopards and sloth bears around Kanha, often seeing pug marks of a lot of wildlife."

Most of Steve's images were taken with a Nikon D700, and his prime lens is a Nikon 200-400 VR , F4. His wife Elaine has also developed a love for wildlife and is just starting to take images of her own.

Among Steve's pictures is one of an elephant called Tara on the driveway of Misty Meadows. The elephant used to belong to Mark Shand, the brother of the Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and is the subject of Mr Shand's book Travels on my Elephant. Tara is now owned by the Kipling Camp in Kanha.

Steve also managed to get a picture of a very rare jungle cat sunning itself on a rock, which he described as a "real privilege".

It is estimated there are three to five million grey squirrels in the UK and one in 100,000 are born albino.

But not all white squirrels are albino – research in America has found that some are an unusual genetic variant on the far more common grey squirrel.

  • More of Steve’s stunning images can be found on YouTube

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