In the isolated beauty of the Canadian lakes, this couple thought it was safe to take a holiday snap without a stranger wandering into shot.

But they hadn't reckoned on this curious interloper deciding to steal the limelight.

The cheeky ground squirrel popped up in the foreground after Melissa Brandts and her husband had set the timer on their camera for a picture of them by Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park.

Mrs Brandts explained: 'We had our camera set up on some rocks and were getting ready when this curious little ground squirrel appeared, became intrigued with the sound of the focusing camera and popped right into our shot. It was a once in a lifetime moment - we were laughing about this little guy for days!'

The image is so startling that, had it not ran on the prestigious National Geographic magazine's website, many might have assumed it had been digitally altered