A surprised photographer got the "shot of his dreams" at the weekend as two exotic animals hopped in front of him near Marlow. 

John Dennis, from High Wycombe, was walking back from the Salvo Fair at the McAlpine Estate on Saturday afternoon when a Patagonian Mara jumped out of long grass in front of him. 

The rodent stood on its hind legs around 15 yards away from Mr Dennis, giving him the perfect opportunity to snap some photographs of the creature before it went off to join its mate. 

The South American native is not the first unusual visitor to the area, with a wallaby, capybara and coatis also spotted roaming in Marlow and surrounding areas in the last few years. 

Animal lover Lady McAlpine's Fawley estate is home to a host of exotic species, including maras, but it has not been confirmed if the animals spotted on Saturday belong to her. 

Mr Dennis, 70, said he was walking at the back of the McAlpine estate, near the footpath that leads down to the Henley Road, when he saw the animals at around 2.30pm. 

He said the pair were "not frightened" by his presence, meaning the pictures he snapped were "exceptionally clear". 

He added: "It was a photographer's dream shot as one of them stood on its hind legs and just looked at me for a few minutes, then it ran off with his mate.

"I followed them and got a couple more shots. I visit this area a lot, but all I have seen is wallabies and deer.

"There was a photo in the Bucks Free Press archive from 2015 of the same animal and I am wondering if it is the same animal." 

Lady McAlpine has previously stated that the they are not kept in cages and that fences do not easily stop maras, which are from the rodent family and are native to Argentina.

In 2015, she told the Bucks Free Press that maras are "more intelligent" than coatis and often "come and go" from the estate.