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Rodney Nombekana, an experienced safari and photographic guide, caught this sighting while out in the Kruger National Park. He told Latest Sightings he and his group “went up to Ngotso, near Satara camp, to look for the Ngotso lion pride and the resident leopards there”.
They found the lions, but while they were there watching them, another member of the group “spotted a Martial eagle that had just caught a monitor lizard!”
The eagle didn’t take any notice of the people watching as it started tucking into its meal, but the lizard hadn’t completely given up yet.
The Perfect Prey
Martial eagles frequently prey on large lizards like this, even having evolutionary adaptations to targeting larger and more dangerous reptile species than other birds. Their speed and habit of hunting from high in the air give them an edge against the terrestrial reptiles.
By the time Rodney and his group caught sight of this one, it already had the unfortunate lizard trapped in its sharp grip, and although the lizard struggled, it couldn’t break free.
With the future of the lizard looking grim, the eagle got to work with its sharp and curved beak.
An Extended Battle
Rodney and his group were now completely distracted from the lions they’d gone looking for. According to Rodney, they watched “the struggle for about an hour” before having to leave for a morning meal.
What’s remarkable about this, is that Rodney said that when they came back from this meal they “noticed that the eagle was still busy trying to take out the lizard.”
The lizard’s determination to force an escape is a testament to the fortitude of these animals in the face of deadly peril, but ultimately the lizard had little chance of survival.
Violent Demise
The monitor lizard, struggling to move in the eagles talon, nonetheless managed to summon the energy for an attempted escape. Forcing its legs to move, it managed to take a few slow steps.
It lacked the speed of the eagle though, which never once relaxed its grip. The lizard’s struggles brought it more time, but not freedom, as the eagle took immediate and harsh action, targeting the lizard’s sensitive eyes.
When even this didn’t deter the lizard from twisting in the eagle’s grip in an attempt to free itself, the eagle began repeatedly slamming the lizard into the ground to daze it.
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Belly Up And Vulnerable
Whether it was by the eagle’s design, or simply a fortunate accident from the eagle hopping into the air, the lizard found itself not only beaten, but also turned onto its back, where its weakening legs couldn’t even reach the ground.
Once the eagle had the lizard in such a position it was simple for it to strike the killing blow, but it hadn’t been an easy victory. Rodney said that altogether, “it took about 5 hours for the lizard to finally give up”, after which they “left while the eagle fed on the well-deserved meal.”
Martial eagles are considered critically endangered, and are often attacked by human populations which see them as troublesome for targeting livestock, so this one’s survival paramount for the population as a whole. A well-deserved meal indeed.