How would you feel if you were going home proudly clutching your hard-earned food, when all of a sudden someone jumps you, snatches away your sandwich and runs off? You would be furious, wouldn’t you? Imagine then this poor red fox, whose rabbit was stolen by a cheeky bald eagle in the San Juan Islands, WA.
The bald eagle is a symbol of America: it's powerful, graceful and fearsome. Nevertheless, quite aptly one could say, it's also known as a master thief, pretty happy to steal food from other animals whenever the opportunity arises. “Eagles really don’t like to waste a lot of effort in getting their food, so they look for easy opportunities,” Kevin, the photographer, said.
“A couple of days ago, I captured an especially dramatic act of thievery,” Kevin wrote on his blog. “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.”
Kevin was on the San Juan Islands watching young foxes, named kits, play and hunt on the prairie. “A red fox caught a rabbit and was carrying it across the meadow,” he said. “I panned my camera with it to capture the action. Then behind me, I heard the cry of a bald eagle. I turned around and saw it approaching fast. I knew it wanted the rabbit. I intently trained my camera on the fox bracing for a split second of action.”
“To my surprise, the scene was even more dramatic than I expected. I thought the fox would drop the rabbit, giving the eagle an easy dinner. 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.”
The entire airborne battle lasted approximately eight seconds, bringing a brand new meaning to the term ‘flying fox.’ After realizing that this battle could not be won, the fox finally gave up the fight, and the eagle dropped it from a height of about 20 feet. While taking a heavy landing, the fox showed no signs of injury. “It shook off the encounter and resumed playing with its fellow kits. I took several pictures of it after the ordeal and couldn’t find a single scratch,” the photographer said.
“I suspect the eagle thought that since it was a very young fox, the fox probably would have been scared by the eagle and would have dropped the rabbit,” Kevin explained. “It was a very unique experience. I’ve seen bald eagles steal food from crows, great blue herons, and other eagles. I’ve never seen an act of theft like that. But I’ve been a nature photographer for nearly 20 years, I believe every animal has a story to tell.”
“Images that tell a story — rather than just being pretty pictures — are my favorite. That’s what I work toward”
Scroll down below to check out the amazing and rare pictures, and share your thoughts in the comments!
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Zachary Hartje also captured the fascinating scene on video
Here is how people reacted
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I like to watch the animal world, it shows me the vigor of the animals, and the struggle for their right to life, very well.
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