Mesmerizing video shows salmon battling upstream

 By Anna Davies and Josie Adnitt via SWNS

This incredible footage shows the salmon run - fish battling upstream as fall approaches so they can spawn.

Professional snapper David Tipling, 57, went up to the Scottish Highlands for a week in the wild.

During the trip, he captured striking video of the fish leaping up the Falls of Shin, near the village of Lairg.

The high-definition, slow motion clips show Atlantic salmon making their way upstream to their spawning grounds further up the river.

The salmon run is the time when the fish, which have migrated from the ocean, swim to the upper reaches of rivers where they deposit eggs on gravel beds.

"They’re Atlantic salmon returning to the river where they were born to spawn," said David, who has been a photographer for 30 years.

“They spawn in gravelly beds upstream and so they have to swim through obstacles like the waterfall to get to their spawning grounds in November to early December.

“Most autumns I try and spend a few days photographing leaping salmon – it depends on the year and how much water is in the river.

“The good thing about the Falls of Shin is there’s a big hydroelectric dam upstream which moderates the water flow so it’s never a small amount – it's the most reliable place to see leaping salmon.

“This summer, where it’s been so dry, the rivers are low and the salmon don’t come in until there’s a good flow of water.

“The footage was taken between August 30 and September 6, with most of the videoing happing during the last couple of days.”