There is no question that bald eagles are skilled hunters. 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. In my book The Year of the Eagle, I documented bald eagles stealing food from crows, great blue herons and even other eagles.
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.
It happened as I was photographing the foxes in the San Juan Island National Historical Park on San Juan Island in Washington state. The foxes aren’t native. They were introduced by settlers in the 1900s to try to thin the numbers of European rabbits that were introduced to the island in the 1890s.
The rabbits aren’t the foxes' first choice for supper. They actually prefer insects, berries and voles. But the berries and voles have been displaced by the rabbits, which have clearcut the prairie with their vast burrows. While patches of flowers and red grasses make the prairie attractive at certain times of year, it’s actually an area of tremendous devastation.
I spent the day watching several young foxes, called kits, rest and play on the prairie. I counted at least eight kits. There are probably more. Shortly before sunset, they started hunting. One fox managed to snag a rabbit’s foot. Several kits gave chase, but it made it to its den to feed.
About 15 minutes later, a red fox caught a rabbit and was carrying it across the meadow. 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.
There have been stories of bald eagles taking off with animals as large as young deer, but while they’re strong, they’re not that strong. They can comfortably lift about half their body weight — so about five or six pounds. The young fox and rabbit were likely just beyond that weight.
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. (I've also turned the image sequence into a short video.)
The whole battle was over in less than 8 seconds.
Don’t worry: the fox was fine. 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.
From what I’ve been able to research, this was a rare encounter. 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.
(The second edition of Kevin Ebi's book Year of the Eagle includes a new section devoted to the bald eagle, fox and rabbit encounter. It's available in softcover and as an e-book. Follow his photography on Facebook or Instagram.)
Hakuna shaka kwamba tai wenye manyoya yaovu ni wawindaji stadi. Wanaweza kuona samaki kutoka umbali wa kilometa moja na kuruka hadi kwake kwa muda usiozidi dakika moja. Lakini pia wao ni mabwana wa jambo ambalo wanasayansi huita kleptoparasitism: sanaa ya kuiba chakula kutoka kwa wengine. Katika kitabu changu cha The Year of the Eagle, nilirekodi vipepeo wa kipofu wakiba chakula kutoka kwa kunguru, vipepeo wakubwa wa bluu na hata vipepeo wengine. Hata hivyo, siku chache zilizopita, nilichukua picha ya wizi wenye kuvutia sana. Niliona tai mwenye ngozi nyeupe akimwibia sungura mbweha mchanga mwekundu. Hata hivyo, ni jambo la kushangaza kwamba wakati mwingine vita hivyo viliendelea kwa urefu wa meta 20 juu ya ardhi. Picha ya mbweha wa San Juan katika Hifadhi ya Kitaifa ya San Juan Mbweha si wenyeji. Mnyama huyo alianzishwa na wahamiaji katika miaka ya 1900 ili kupunguza idadi ya sungura wa Ulaya walioletwa kwenye kisiwa hicho katika miaka ya 1890. Sungura si chakula cha kwanza cha mbweha kula. Kwa kweli wao hupendelea wadudu, matunda na vipepeo. Lakini matunda hayo na korongo wametengwa na sungura, ambao wamekatilia mbali nyanda hizo kwa mashimo yao makubwa. Ingawa maeneo yenye maua na nyasi nyekundu hufanya nyanda hizo ziwe zenye kuvutia wakati fulani wa mwaka, kwa kweli ni eneo lililoharibiwa sana. Nilitumia siku hiyo nikitazama mbweha kadhaa wachanga, wanaoitwa kits, wakipumzika na kucheza kwenye nyanda. Nilihesabu angalau vifurushi nane. Yaelekea kuna wengine zaidi. Muda mfupi kabla ya jua kutua, walianza kuwinda. Mbweha mmoja alifaulu kukamata mguu wa sungura. Watoto kadhaa walimfuatilia, lakini alifika kwenye pango lake ili kula. Baada ya dakika kumi na tano, mbweha mmoja alimpata sungura na kumchukua hadi kwenye uwanja. Nilitumia kamera yangu kurekodi matukio hayo. Kisha nyuma yangu, nikasikia kilio cha tai mwenye ngozi nyekundu. Niligeuka na kuiona ikikaribia haraka. Nilijua kwamba alitaka sungura. Nilikaza kamera yangu kwa makini juu ya mnyama huyo kwa ajili ya sehemu ndogo ya sekunde ya mwendo. Kwa mshangao wangu, mandhari hiyo ilikuwa yenye kuvutia zaidi kuliko nilivyotarajia. Nilidhani mbweha angemwangusha sungura, akimpa tai chakula cha jioni rahisi. Badala yake, mbweha huyo, akiwa bado ameshika sungura kwa taya, alishikwa bila kukusudia na tai mwenye ngozi nyeupe. Tai aliinua mbweha mchanga na sungura angani na kuanzisha mapambano yenye kutokeza zaidi. Kumekuwa na hadithi za tai wenye nywele nyeupe wakiondoka na wanyama wakubwa kama nyati wachanga, lakini wakati wao ni wenye nguvu, wao si wenye nguvu sana. Wanaweza kuinua kwa urahisi karibu nusu ya uzito wao wa mwili - yaani, karibu pauni tano au sita. Yaelekea mbweha mchanga na sungura walikuwa na uzito unaozidi huo. Kama unavyoweza kuona kutoka kwa mfululizo wa picha hapa chini, kit hicho kilipigana sana, kikipiga-piga mbele na nyuma. Tai alibadilisha sungura huyo na kumweka kwenye kidole chake cha kulia na hatimaye akamwacha mbweha huyo aende. Mbweha huyo alianguka kutoka urefu wa kutosha kuanzisha wingu dogo la vumbi alipogonga ardhi. (Nimebadilisha pia mfululizo wa picha kuwa video fupi.) Mapigano yote yaliisha kwa muda usiozidi sekunde nane. Usiwe na wasiwasi: mbweha alikuwa sawa. Aliondoka kwenye mkutano huo na kuanza tena kucheza na wenzake. Nilipiga picha kadhaa baada ya majaribu hayo na sikuweza kupata hata makwaruzo moja. Kutokana na kile ambacho nimeweza kuchunguza, hii ilikuwa mkutano wa nadra. Wanasayansi wa San Juan Island National Historical Park wamefanya utafiti wa wanyama hao wa kuua kwa sababu ya hatari zao. "Wakati mbweha wataenda baada ya sungura kama hawawezi kupata kitu bora, kwa tai wa mbuga, asilimia 97 ya chakula chao ni samaki na ndege wengine. """ "Kama ilivyoelezwa katika toleo la pili la kitabu cha Kevin Ebby, ""Mwaka wa Tai,"" sehemu ya kwanza ya kitabu hicho inaonyesha jinsi ndege wa aina ya bald eagle, fox, na rabbit walivyokutana." Inapatikana katika jalada laini na kama kitabu cha elektroniki. Fuata picha zake kwenye Facebook au Instagram.)