This incredible moment entails 2 birds of prey hashing it out. A hawk attacks an injured owl – claiming a tree as its own!
Wildlife enthusiasts, Eon Coetzee and his wife Madeleine had the privilege of seeing this rare sighting in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on the Nossob river road – after Leeuwdril at the famous Camelthorn tree. Eon shared the story with LatestSightings.com:
“On the 3rd of March, we drove past the tree with the huge nests of the sociable weavers. We spotted a cape cobra in one of the nests feeding on the small chicks inside the nests. It was incredible to watch, but also sad to see the parents of the chicks trying to fight off the snake.”
“The next day we drove the same route again and stopped at the same tree, to see if we could see the snake again, but no luck. As we drove off, we saw a Barn Owl sitting next to the road on the ground.”
“Suddenly a Pale Chanting Goshawk came down from the tree attacking the owl. Every now and then the fight stopped for a few minutes, but then the goshawk would attack again. The owl tried its best to defend itself, although it was clear that the goshawk had the upper hand. It seemed like the owl was too injured to fly away.”
“After a few minutes, the goshawk flew back to the top of the tree, landing on one of the nests. The owl took its chance and disappeared into the grass and we did not see it again.”
“My guess is that the goshawk reckons it is his tree and he alone can feed on the weavers. The owl probably trespassed by landing on the tree in hopes to catch one of the weavers.”
But then again he may have just innocently been bypassing the area without any intention of stealing anyone’s food. That will always remain the beauty of Mother Nature…we will never truly know what is happening.