Aerial Battle Between A Bald Eagle And Two Seagulls In Alaska Caught On Camera
Photographer David Canales was kayaking on Alaska’s Prince William Sound when he captured a dramatic photo showing an aerial battle — a life and death struggle — between a bald eagle and two seagulls.
Canales, a graduate from the University of San Antonio, Texas, who has been posting photographs from his 11-day trip in Alaska — from Valdez to Whittier — to his Instagram account, shared the photo of the epic mid-air death struggle online earlier this week.
He described the sight of the three birds locked in battle mid-air as “one of the most epic sights I’ve ever seen.”
“One of the most epic sights I’ve ever seen. Had just switched on my 400mm lens seconds before I captured this on my kayak. Eagles in Valdez don’t mess around.”
According to Canales, while he was kayaking on the Prince William Sound, he observed a soaring eagle that flew into a nest of seagulls. It snatched one of the seagulls in its talons and flew away it. Another seagull gave chase, caught up with the eagle, and tried to rescue its mate grasped firmly in the talons of the deadly apex predator.
The seagull on top tried to force the eagle to drop its mate by nipping on its neck feathers while the victim below struggled to free itself by attacking the eagle on the feet with its beak.
The photo shows the seagull held in the talons of the bald eagle while another seagull appeared to ride on top of the eagle.
Another photo of the aerial battle captured from a different angle shows that two seagulls had originally given chase.
“This eagle flew right into a nest of these birds and just carried this guy away like nothing. A new respect for Eagles.”
The photo went viral after the U.S. Department of the Interior posted it to its Facebook page on Tuesday with a comment.
“Check out this epic aerial battle between a bald eagle & two seagulls. David Canales captured this once-in-a-lifetime photo from his kayak on Prince William Sound in Alaska while on an 11-day expedition from Valdez to Whittier.”
Almost everyone who saw the photo on Facebook wanted to know who won the fight.
A Department of Interior spokesperson responded to inquiries on Facebook, saying that the eagle got away with the gull and that its mate had to give up the courageous rescue effort.
“The gull above the eagle gave up and the other one wasn’t able to free itself.”
Bald eagles survive on a wide variety of prey. They prey mostly on fish, but being opportunistic predators, they also feed on a wide variety of smaller birds, such as seagulls, grebes, egrets, herons, and geese.
The remarkable photo emerges online soon after a photo showing a crow riding on the back of an eagle went viral.
[Images: Instagram/David Canales; U.S. Department of Interior]
