A video capturing a bald eagle snatching a young fox holding a rabbit in its mouth, already viewed more than 65,000 times on Facebook, is certain to go mega-viral now that there's a question about which animal really came out on top.
The dramatic video, in which the eagle lifts the fox about 20 feet in the air while trying to steal its rabbit supper, was taken recently at Washington state's San Juan Island National Historic Park, CBS News reported.
The battle of wills was won by the eagle because it dropped the fox and flew away with the rabbit, said one witness to the theft, but another said the eagle dropped both the fox and the rabbit. You be the judge.
"There is no question that bald eagles are skilled hunters," said Kevin Ebi, a professional nature photographer, who wrote about the flying struggle on his blog Living Wilderness on Monday. "They can spot a fish from a mile away and fly to it in under a minute.”
"But they're also masters of something scientists call kleptoparasitism: the art of stealing food from others. … A couple of days ago, however, I captured an especially dramatic act of thievery. I saw a bald eagle steal a rabbit from a young red fox. Even more impressive: at times, this battle played out more than 20 feet in the air," Ebi said.
While Ebi took photographs, Zachary Hartje captured the event on video as the determined eagle swooped down to what Ebi believed would be the perfect crime.
"I thought the fox would drop the rabbit, giving the eagle an easy dinner," Ebi wrote. "Instead, the fox, with its jaw still clenched on the rabbit, inadvertently got snagged by the bald eagle. The eagle lifted the young fox and rabbit into the sky triggering an even more dramatic struggle.
"… As you can see from the image sequence below, the kit put up quite a fight, swinging back and forth. The eagle transferred the rabbit to its right talon and eventually let the fox go. The fox fell from enough height to trigger a small dust cloud when it hit the ground. The whole battle was over in less than 8 seconds," Ebi added.
Hartje's video caption, though, said the eagle did not fly away with the rabbit.
In either case, Ebi said the young fox was fine after encounter, as it resumed playing with its fellow kits. Even with an empty belly, he added.
"From what I've been able to research, this was a rare encounter," Ebi wrote. "The managers of San Juan Island National Historical Park are eager to get rid of the rabbits because of their destructive ways and have studied potential predators. While the foxes will go after the rabbits if they can't find something better, for the park’s eagles, 97 percent of their diet is fish and other birds."
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