A keen Norfolk photographer has told of the moment she snapped her first ever photo of a wild polecat.
Ann Mason was walking on the Weavers' Way trail near Aylsham when she spotted the flick of a tail go into a hedge.
After spotting the carcass of a rabbit on the floor she waited until the polecat came back out of the greenery.
Mrs Mason said: "I had my camera – it goes everywhere with me. She sniffed [the rabbit] up and down, picked it up and just walked away with it. We weren't moving and were stood quite a way away.
"I was so worried she was going to run off and I wasn't going to get a picture, because when she picked it up she looked straight at us."
Seeing the now recovering species in the wild brought back happy childhood memories for Mrs Mason.
She said: "It's the first one I've ever seen in the wild, and I've lived in the country all my life. I had polecats and ferrets as a child many years ago.
"As kids we used to put them on a lead and walk them around the garden. That's how I knew what it was."
• Have you taken photos or videos or rare of exotic wildlife in Norfolk that you'd like to share with us? Email: daniel.moxon@archant.co.uk.
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