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Osprey attempts to steal fish from bald eagle
A man captured rare footage of an osprey attempting to scavenge a fish from a bald eagle on a lake in British Columbia.
KASLO, British Columbia (FOX 9) - Rare footage shows an osprey attempting to scavenge a fish from a bald eagle on a lake in British Columbia.
The backstory:
Ryan Dutchak filmed the encounter Friday on Kootenay Lake as the two birds of prey fought over a fish in the water. Dutchak and his friend Craig Mullin narrated the scene, which Dutchak described as a "miracle of nature."
In the footage, the bald eagle is seen floating on the surface of the lake with its prey. The osprey repeatedly swoops at the eagle in an apparent attempt to steal the catch. The eagle eventually abandoned the fish and flew away.
"He left the fish behind," Dutchak said in the recording. "It’s wild out here!"
What they're saying:
Wildlife experts note that while bald eagles are often the ones to steal food from other birds, a behavior known as kleptoparasitism, it is less common to see an osprey challenge an eagle for a kill.
Dutchak shared the encounter on social media, where the interaction between the two birds has gone viral.