To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Wildlife Photographer Sets Up Camera In Woods And Returns To Find Surprise Photoshoot

Wildlife Photographer Sets Up Camera In Woods And Returns To Find Surprise Photoshoot

Jeff Wirth was hoping to get snaps of a bobcat but returned to find something rather unexpected

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

You don't always get what you hoped for. In fact, sometimes you get more...

Take this conservationist and wildlife photographer as a prime example. He set up a camera in the woods hoping to see a bobcat, but instead he ended up with images of a mischievous passerby.

Work it baby.
Jam Press

Jeff Wirth, from Washington State, USA was inspired to set up his homemade DSLR camera after exploring a wetland area created by beavers near his house and noticing bobcat droppings.

After returning to the site weekly to check the footage he'd obtained, nothing blew him away. That was until he viewed the sequence of images left by the surprise passer-by.

Jam Press

Jeff explained: "[These photos were] taken on a homemade DSLR camera trap using a Canon 5DMiii camera.

"A passive infrared sensor is used to detect motion in front of the camera. When motion is detected the trigger wakes the camera and the flash up, and a series of photos are taken.

"I have never lost any camera traps due to theft before, but sometimes nature claims one every now and then whether it be flooding from a storm or a curious bear."

Jam Press

Jeff returned to the site weekly, to put fresh batteries in his camera and to check on the footage he had gained.

He went on: "I got a few images of critters including raccoons, weasels, a few bobcat photos, and a number of birds, but nothing I was super happy with so I left the camera there.

"When I went to check the camera a couple of days ago, the first sequence of images I saw were those of a surprise visitor that made me smile ear to ear and laugh to myself alone in the forest.

"It was a mystery visitor, but this time, in human form. I never get humans on camera, so this was interesting. As you may notice, he was not camera-shy, to say the least.

"He hammed it up pretty good and left me with a sequence of images in a variety of poses."

Jeff also managed to snap a bobcat.
Jam Press

Jeff posted the hilarious images on social media and they immediately went viral, garnering over 2,000 likes on his Instagram account @burningxjeff and a huge 151,000 upvotes on Reddit.

He commented: "Since then, the mystery man found the post online and we have been texting back and forth the past week.

"Turns out he was doing invasive plant management along the creek I was set upon. It's pretty cool."

Featured Image Credit: Jam Press

Topics: Viral, Community