Being hunted is bad enough, being hunted from the ground and the air is even worse! While this poor steenbok ran for its life, he was hunted by two jackals from behind as well as an eagle from above!
33-year-old field guide, Shaun Etsebeth caught this incredible chase on video on a small road just past Tshokwane on the 21st of June 2020.
He caught up with LatestSightings.com and expressed his surprise to have witnessed such a chase, while he was anticipating the result:
“We were on a drive when we spotted a tawny eagle up in a tree. We stopped for a minute when the eagle suddenly dove and started chasing after a steenbok in the grass.”
“It was surprising enough to see the eagle hunt such large prey, and I was lucky to have been able to catch this on video – as the action was very short-lived. It wasn’t long before we noticed movement from another direction, when two black-backed jackals entered the frame out of nowhere!”
“Even though this was a short chase, and neither the jackals nor the eagle managed to catch the steenbok, this was a first-time sighting for me. The steenbok managed to outrun both predators and survived to live another day.”
WATCH:
“Tawny Eagles are scavengers by nature. But they have been known to hunt mammals up to 4kg, including warthogs and antelopes. If you look it up, a male steenbok is listed as 11kg. My theory is that this was an opportunistic attempt by the eagle and that the jackals were probably on the hunt before.”
