Mosquito Lagoon Survival Of The Fittest
Survival Of The Fittest
The longest camera lens I had was my 200mm that still kept me out of range so I needed to walk closer and pull the skiff with me as I walked taking shots. By the looks of the scene they had been wrestling for a few minutes before we got there by the amount of feathers that covered the surface of the water.
The bobcat looked to have control over the heron latching onto the herons neck trying to drag him into the mangroves. As I moved closer the bobcat worked a little faster with his objective.
The bobcat regroups and grabs a hold of the heron dragging him into the mangroves. At this time me and Kailey are in shock at what we were seeing and did not want to interfere
The heron was doing everything he could to get away and he managed to slip away again falling backwards into the water.
In a split second the bobcat leaped out of the mangroves grabbing the heron again!!
The bobcat had a good hold on the heron once again as he inched closer to the mangroves. At this point Kailey is feeling really bad for the heron and wants me to help, but I had to tell her it was not my place as this is in the hands of nature and has been going on for hundreds of years.
Over head another Great Blue Heron flies in and lands in the water where the battle started. He most likely flew away during the initial attack and came back to check on his friend.
I thought for sure at this point there was no hope for the heron as he seemed to be fighting less and less. The bobcat pulls him further into the mangroves and I can no longer see the bobcat.
Within in just a few more seconds the heron was nearly out of my sight. Still in shock at what I am witnessing and not because of the attack just at the fact that I am getting to see this in person, such a rare sight something you would only see on television. Well that was it I started to get my camera put away and continue on to the ramp and the next thing I know the heron is stumbling out of the mangroves. Once again I grab my camera to get a few more shots and anticipating the return of the bobcat.
He returned back to the shallow point where the attack first took place. The surface of the water still littered with his own feathers he looks back to the mangroves as if he was watching his back. It was apparent he was injured a bit and a little shaken. The other heron had flown off as I moved closer.
Unable to fly at the moment he started to wade in the other direction and began hunting again.
He started to make his way across the cove to the opposite shoreline. We watched him for a few more minutes making sure he could walk away good and he could. It had never crossed my mind that these birds were hunted in anyway except for the rare occasion of a gator grabbing one . It makes me wonder how often this happens and goes unseen. Never the less this was an amazing sight to see and will be a memory never forgotten.The Mosquito Lagoon and The Indian River Lagoon are both inside the boundaries of theCanaveral National Seashore and the Merrit Island Wildlife Refuge home to an abundance of wildlife. The amount of wildlife seen on any given day is unbelievable and is just a bonus to the exceptional fishing.
Capt. Justin Price
Right In Sight Charters
Fly Fishing & Light Tackle
Mosquito Lagoon-Indian River Lagoon-New Smyrna Beach
[email protected]
www.rightinsightcharters.com
386-566-4687
In modern times, where pythons and monitor lizards occur in Florida, they too are hunting these birds.
It’s a problem in breeding aggregations (rookeries), especially
This April I saw a bobcat run out and catch a great egret by the neck and disappear into the brush with it. I was driving a truck on a sand road in a Preserve and the heron was hunting on a rock crossing — in just a flash the bobcat grabbed the heron and was gone! I was shocked and amazed! In Florida panhandle. I have never heard of it before either so it is really interesting to see/hear your story. Unfortunately I didn’t have a camera (not that I could have gotten it out in time!).