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Post by OldGreenVulture on Sept 6, 2019 12:57:16 GMT
Monitor lizards are dangerous prey even for martial eagles.
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Post by OldGreenVulture on Sept 6, 2019 12:58:13 GMT
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Post by OldGreenVulture on Sept 6, 2019 13:04:37 GMT
Martial Eagle vs Nile Monitor.  Yesterday has to go down as one of the weirdest coincidences I can remember! A few hours after posting a Martial Eagle pic with a warthog kill on this page, we were out on drive in the Linyanti trying to get photos of some Redheaed or Cardinal Queleas that had been sighted a week before. Anyway we got stuck in some soft sand and as we were digging ourselves out we heard a big crash next to us…we quickly swung around assuming it was an elephant sneaking up on us only to find a juvenile Martial Eagle had just caught a huge Nile Monitor right next to our car…the crazy thing about the sighting was that it was a stale mate…the eagle had the monitor and the monitor had the eagle pinned to the ground. After about 5 minutes they both gave way and the monitor took refuge in an open burrow. We then had a somewhat injured and bewildered Martial for more than an hour walking right up to us looking for his catch that got away…it eventually got dark and the Martial was still in the area…would be interesting to see what happened this morning, but one thing for sure is the Martial was not giving up!  17:42 we heard this massive crash! It felt like ages that the Martial was stuck in this position…we were thinking…is it dead? There was this stale mate here as the Martial had the monitor but the monitor, using its tale, had the inexperienced bird pinned to the ground face down (see top pic) !  Eventually after maybe 5 minutes the stale mate is over and the eagle gets away and the monitor moves down into a shallow burrow.  The eagle flew into a Kalahari appleleaf a few metres away from us allowing us to snap away. It wasn’t at all nervous and ignored us. Maybe because it was slightly in shock.  After a few minutes we had this Martial running around us like a chicken on a sidewalk in Maun and posing nicely for photos. He was not scared and approached us within a few metres. This posing continued for more than an hour until after sunset. The eagle was doing its best to relocate the lizard but to no avail! Then the next day guides were in the area and the Martial was still there…whether it had caught the lizard again or not we can’t say but it definitely was playing the waiting game to try and catch its hard fought meal! www.bush24.com/blog/martial-eagle-vs-nile-monitorFrom Carnivora.
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Post by OldGreenVulture on Sept 6, 2019 13:10:24 GMT
UFC Snake vs Bird
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Post by OldGreenVulture on Sept 6, 2019 13:12:00 GMT
Redtailed Hawk and Rat Snake
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Post by OldGreenVulture on Sept 6, 2019 13:14:33 GMT
Hawk vs Bull Snake
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Post by OldGreenVulture on Sept 6, 2019 13:19:18 GMT
Snake Attacks Baby Iguana, Hawk Reacts
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Post by OldGreenVulture on Sept 6, 2019 13:21:18 GMT
Hawk Vs Snake
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Post by OldGreenVulture on Sept 28, 2019 13:50:53 GMT
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Post by dinosauria101 on Oct 7, 2019 0:43:44 GMT
This snake seems to have the upper hand against this serpent eagle  |
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Eaglehawk
Mature Chick
Southern Eagle
Posts: 216
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Post by Eaglehawk on Nov 26, 2019 7:06:59 GMT
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Post by OldGreenVulture on Dec 2, 2019 13:53:04 GMT
Southern Ground Hornbill Kills Large Monitor LizardWhen we think of predators we immediately think lion, leopard and related animals. However the extent of predation was really brought home to me on June 29th 2006 when we were on our way home via Skukuza after 5 days in the Kruger based mainly at Satara camp.  About 5 kms from the rest camp close to the Sabie River I could see a pair ofGround-Hornbills and one was behaving as if it was striking something repeatedly with its long sharp and strong bill. The Hornbill would lift its head and bring it down with some considerable force, arching its wings in the process presumably to get a greater thrust. Initially it wasn't possible to see what was happening then suddenly it came into view ... a Monitor Lizard about 60 cms long was struggling to avoid the pounding. The Lizard was still alive but obviously in considerable distress and hardly able to fight back. Still the pounding continued. On a couple of occasions the Hornbill tried to lift the Monitor but it was far too heavy. The second Hornbill was a disinterested spectator throughout the whole killing process.  The bill of the Hornbill finally pierced the tough skin covering of the lizard and the bird started to eat the the protruding entrails of the unfortunate creature. At this stage the second bird started to help itself to scraps of flesh also. My wife was quite sickened by the process and could hardly watch and I had to remind her that what she was witnessing was real, it was the way of life in the Kruger. It was eat or be eaten for many animals.  It was nevertheless quite a startling episode of savagery and it was hard not to feel for the Monitor .... itself a magnificent creature who lived and survived by eating other animals and especially birds' eggs and small fledglings. We just don't think of birds as serious predators of anything other than insects. But they are as this incident brought home in no uncertain terms. A day earlier we had witnessed a Bateleur Eagle eat, in double quick time, a very long legged bird nestling. www.thekruger.com/skukuza/deathofmonitorlizard.htm
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Eaglehawk
Mature Chick
Southern Eagle
Posts: 216
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Post by Eaglehawk on Dec 6, 2019 5:18:23 GMT
Crested Eagle v Snake 
Brown Snake Eagle v Puff Adder |
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