When thinking of competing predators, the first thing that comes to mind might be a lion chasing off a leopard, or a hyena stealing meat from a pack of wild dogs.
But all kinds of predators find themselves squabbling over their prey, even the ones you might not always expect like this eagle and heron. Rodney Nombekana, a safari guide, watched the interaction play out in the Kruger National Park.
The Original Owner
The heron had clearly managed to have a successful fishing trip. Stomping about in the shallows of the water, it had a large fish which had already given up resisting.
Perhaps a little strangely, the heron didn’t appear to know exactly what to do with the fish now that it’d caught it. It kept picking it up and shaking it a lot, and then just putting it down again.
Perhaps it could see the eagle circling overhead looking for a fish of its own and it was being cautious, or the fish it’d caught was just too big to easily and conveniently swallow so it had to tear off smaller chunks at a time.
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Swooping In For A Fish
The heron saw the eagle coming from some distance, and it backed off before the other bird had landed. Eagles are typically altitude hunters, spotting prey with their keen eyesight and then swooping down to take it.
This one looked at first as though it was about to dive in and steal the fish from the shallow water where the heron had left it, but the heron wasn’t about to lose its dinner without a struggle.
The two birds faced off against one another with their wings out wide and their beaks open to make themselves look big and intimidating. Next to the size of the heron the eagle looked like little more than a glorified seagull, but with its wings extended no one would misidentify it.
On The Backfoot
The heron had the advantage of size, but it was either unable or unwilling to match the eagle’s ferocity. The smaller bird made a big show of flashing its talons at the heron, trying to convince it to back off.
With the eagle in-between it and its fish, the heron’s only option was to retreat and try again somewhere else, or try to force its way past the eagle’s wicked beak and sharp claws.
After some consideration the heron, perhaps wisely, decided that it probably wasn’t worth the effort. There were plenty more fish out there that could be hunted down, and eaten in easier circumstances than this.
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A Surprise Challenger Enters The Ring
Although it hadn’t yet come to blows the eagle and heron’s intimidation battle was intense. It had carried them into the water, away from the fish which then meant the object of their contest was left unprotected.
With the heron vanquished the eagle didn’t turn and claim the fish for itself, so it was an inquisitive stork that ultimately took advantage of the lone fish on the shore and claimed the prize for itself.