How would you react if someone suddenly attacked you while walking home, took your lunch, and then raced off without giving you a chance to say anything? You’d be shocked and appalled, wouldn’t you be? Please spare a thought for this poor red fox, who was just robbed of its rabbit by an impudent bald eagle on the San Juan Islands, located in Washington state.
The American bald eagle is a powerful, majestic, and scary symbol. However, it is also known as a master thief. It will take food from other people whenever the opportunity presents itself. This fits its reputation pretty correctly. Kevin has said to Bored Panda that eagles don’t want to put in a lot of work to get their food, so they look for opportunities that involve little to no effort.
On his blog, he said, “I captured an especially spectacular episode of thievery amongst these wild beasts a few days ago.” This was about an event that occurred a few days ago. “I saw a bird with an eagle’s head seize a rabbit that was being held by a young red fox. Even more incredible is that portions of this combat took place at heights more than six meters in the air at several moments.”
Kevin saw young foxes on the San Juan Islands, sometimes known as kits, running over the grassland and hunting for food. He said that a red fox had taken a rabbit and was transporting it across the meadow with it. “It allowed me to pan my camera to get a better shot of the action. After that, I turned around and heard the screech of an eagle behind me. When I glanced around, I could see that it was getting closer. I was aware that it had its sights set on the rabbit. I focused my camera on it in the hope that the fox would move even for only a fraction of a second.”
“The circumstance turned out to be somewhat more stressful than I had imagined. I was under the impression that the fox would give up the rabbit, making procuring food for the eagle much easier. Instead, the bald eagle accidentally caught the fox when the rabbit was still in its jaws while the eagle’s beak was still clamped around it. The eagle hoisted the young fox and rabbit into the sky, which caused the conflict to become more heated.”
That is one courageous fox you have there! The airborne battle took place for around eight seconds, bringing a new meaning to the term “flying fox.” The fox eventually realized it was pointless to continue fighting. The eagle brought it down from almost 20 feet using its long nails. The fox showed no signs of damage associated with flying, despite having a very rough landing. “It shook off the event and went on to play with the other kits as if nothing had happened. Kevin said, “After the occurrence, I took many pictures of it, and I couldn’t find a single blemish on it.”
Kevin told Bored Panda that he thinks the eagle felt the baby fox would have been startled by the eagle and dropped the rabbit since the rabbit was so young. Kevin bases this belief on the fact that the baby fox was so young. “It was a remarkable experience. I have seen bald eagles taking food from other eagles, ravens, great blue herons, and even other bald eagles. I’ve never witnessed a robbery before that had an eagle, a fox, and a rabbit all working together. After over twenty years of photographing animals, I’ve concluded that every species has a story to tell.”
“As opposed to being just appealing photos, the images that I find most interesting are those that tell a story. To accomplish this is one of my goals.”
What a story was told about the eagle, the fox, and the rabbit! Simply scroll down to see the fantastic images for yourself, and then tell us what you think about them in the comments section below.
Kevin Ebi, a photographer for LivingWilderness.com, was recently able to capture a once-in-a-lifetime fight
Kevin has said to Bored Panda that eagles don’t want to put in a lot of work to get their food, so they look for opportunities that involve little to no effort
“A few days ago, I was able to catch a highly dramatic instance of stealing on camera. I saw an eagle taking a rabbit away from a young red fox so it could eat it.
Even more astonishing is that this battle was fought more than six meters above the earth at certain times.
“The rabbit was being carried across the meadow by a red fox that had just taken it captive. I used it to pan my camera to get a better shot of the action.”
After that, I turned around and heard the screech of an eagle behind me. I was aware that it longed for the rabbit.
It turned out that the circumstance was far more complicated than I had imagined.
I was under the impression that the fox would give up the rabbit, making procuring food for the eagle much simpler.
Instead, the bald eagle took the fox while the rabbit was still caught in its jaws.
After the eagle had hauled the young fox and rabbit into the skies, a far more dramatic struggle erupted between the two animals.
The airborne battle took place for around 8 seconds, bringing a whole new meaning to the expression “flying fox.”
After its journey, the fox had returned to good health. It brushed aside the trauma and continued to play with the other kittens as if nothing had happened.
“When I got back from the trip, I looked through the pictures I had taken, but I couldn’t find a single blemish.”
Source credit to Bored Panda
