This helpless mole is lucky to be alive after escaping fast-rising flood water.
After being flushed from its hole - the clever mole headed for high ground and clambered onto a tuft of land yet to be submerged.
But it quickly became marooned with water rapidly rising all around it.
Desperate: The mole headed for high ground but became stranded atop a tuft of land during floods near Lutsk, in the Ukraine
Thankfully, just moments before being swept away, keen photographer Palko Sergej, 36, spotted the mole and rushed to the rescue.
He said: 'It was helpless - just stuck there and looking absolutely petrified.
'The water was rising quickly and night temperatures in the area are still well below zero.
'During the floods all moles' holes were flooded with water. So they either die under the earth or get out and find higher ground.
'The saddest thing is that because night temperatures are so freezing it can kill moles because they can't handle the cold.
Dicey: The mammal was rescued by photographer Palko Sergej, who spotted him in the nick of time
'We helped it get away from the water and somewhere we felt it would be safe.'
The shots of the mole were taken in March last year during the spring floods of the Styr River near Lutsk in the Ukraine.
Palko, an electrician working for the local emergency services, spotted the mole while taking pictures of the high waters.
He added: 'We have a plenty of moles in this area. So it's very sad to see dead animals - I wanted to try and do what I could to help.
'But unfortunately it's quite usual here - nature is cruel sometimes.'
The Styr River is located in northwestern Ukraine. It is the right tributary of the Pripyat River with a length of 494 km and a basin area of 13,100 km2.
