Karin Mar sent this extraordinary video to Latest Sightings. She filmed it on the H3 in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
The hornbill and the hare
Karin and her companion were looking for wildlife in low-light conditions when they noticed a large bird chasing something. As they approached, they realised it was a ground hornbill attempting to catch a scrub hare.
As they watch, the hare bolts across the road with the bird taking off in pursuit.
Hornbill family
Next, we see the hornbill is not alone. The group comprises two adults and a juvenile. Adult hornbills have red skin on their face and neck, while the skin on juveniles is pale yellow.
After initially running into the grass, the hare returned to the road, pursued by the adult birds. The youngster, meanwhile, hung back, too inexperienced to participate in the chase.
All over?
As the pair caught up with the terrified hare, they stabbed at it with their long, curved beaks. When one of them managed to catch it, it looked like it was all over.
However, somehow, the hare managed to wriggle free. Again, it ran into the roadside grass looking for shelter. When none was found, it sprinted back onto the unobstructed road ahead of Karin.
As we can see in the video, a running hornbill is no match for a sprinting hare. However, in flight, they were soon able to catch up.
Zig-zag
Desperate to evade its less agile tormentors, the hare ran a zig-zag line, but with two birds in pursuit, it made little headway.
Tiring and running out of options, the hare once again veered off the road, hoping to find a hiding place in the long grass.
Ruthless persistence
Ruthless and persistent, the two hornbills followed, determined to flush their quarry into the open.
In no time, the hare found itself once again opting to return to the road. It is at this time that all present realised that they were not the only ones watching the unfolding drama.
This was when a large brown raptor swooped in from above. With its wings outstretched and talons flung forward, the bird of prey snatched up the hapless hare.
Due to the low light conditions and poor video quality, it is difficult to identify the new arrival. However, it is quite possibly a tawny eagle.
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Hapless, hungry hornbills
Barely touching the ground, the eagle executed a tight mid-air turn, and with a few beats of its powerful wings, flew off.
It all happened so fast that it seemed to take the hornbills a few moments to realise what had just happened. One of them made a half-hearted attempt at pursuit, but it was too late. There was nothing left for the hungry family to do but look at each other in disbelief.
Vulnerable ground hornbills
Southern ground hornbills are classified as a vulnerable species. This means that they are at risk of becoming extinct in the wild if measures are not taken to protect them. As is frequently the case, their numbers have declined mainly due to habitat loss. They are rarely seen outside of protected areas.
In the Kruger National Park, visitors are encouraged to submit images of these birds to the park authorities to assist in monitoring them.