This is how this squirrel's soggy fur became one of the best wildlife photos of the year

We've all had that moment: fresh out of the shower, hair dripping everywhere, when the doorbell rings. Canadian photographer Christy Grinton saw a similar scenario play out in the animal kingdom when a mother grey squirrel, mid-nest relocation, peeked out from a vibrant hole in tree bark with her soaking wet fur plastered to her head.

The resulting image, titled Bad Hair Day, has earned Grinton a finalist spot among the 40 standout images in the 2025 Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards. It captures the squirrel emerging from a cavity in brilliantly colored bark, her normally fluffy coat transformed into spiky, waterlogged tufts.

It's nature's version of a bad hair day, made all the more striking by the almost painterly backdrop of peeling tree bark, streaked with vivid yellows, oranges and charred browns, that frames her disheveled appearance.

Technical challenge

Grinton shot the image in downtown Victoria, British Columbia, using settings that reveal the challenging conditions: 1/640 second at f/6.3, ISO4000 – with her 100-500mm set to 363mm. That remarkably high ISO – well into the range where older cameras would produce unusable noise – tells us this was far from ideal lighting. The overcast morning, combined with the need for a fast shutter speed to freeze the squirrel's movement, forced her to push the R5 Mark II's sensor hard.

The Canon EOS R5 Mark II, released in 2024, features a 45MP full-frame sensor with exceptional high-ISO performance. At ISO 4000, the camera maintains impressive detail and manageable noise levels; crucial when photographing fast-moving wildlife in dim conditions. The camera's ability to preserve both the intricate texture of the wet fur and the striking colors of the tree bark at such a high ISO demonstrates the sensor's dynamic range capabilities.

Grinton was using the Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens, one of Canon's most popular telephoto zooms for wildlife photography. At 363mm, she had excellent reach to maintain respectful distance while the squirrel moved her vulnerable offspring, without disturbing the relocation process.

The lens's versatile zoom range meant she could adjust her framing instantly as the situation unfolded, without needing to reposition. The f/6.3 aperture at this focal length provided enough depth of field to keep both the squirrel and the colorful bark texture sharp while the background softly fades.

Recognizing the moment

What separates great wildlife photography from the merely competent is the ability to anticipate. And that's precisely what happened here. "I was in a local park when I saw a grey blur run by," Grinton recalls. "When I looked closer, I saw a mother grey squirrel was relocating her babies to a new nest. The grass was dewy that morning, so she was getting a wet tail as she ran through the grass."

Rather than simply documenting the relocation, Grinton waited for something unexpected... and was rewarded when the waterlogged squirrel paused to peek out from her new nest cavity, her fur transformed into comic spikes.

That readiness – combined with patience, a keen eye for anthropomorphic humor and a camera capable of delivering clean images – resulted in one of 2025's most charming wildlife photographs. It all goes to show that sometimes the best nature images aren't of dramatic predator-prey interactions or stunning landscapes, but simply a bedraggled mother having what we'd all recognize as a very bad hair day indeed.