In something you may have thought you would never hear throughout your life, a bald eagle in Canada was caught on cam having a fight with an octopus.
Yes, you read that right, an octopus vs an eagle.
A bald eagle may have learned to think twice before preying on something it plans to eat.
In the video, you can see the bald eagle nearly drowning as an octopus tried to eat it.
Locals heard shrieks coming from the water on the North-Western tip of Vancouver Island.
Upon investigating, employees at a fish farm saw a bald eagle having a fight against an octopus.
When they arrived, they saw the bird and cephalopod locked in battle.
The giant Pacific octopus, which had turned a deep crimson, had a wound on its tentacles tightly around the eagle, which was floating helplessly at the surface.
John Ilett, an employee at the Mowi West Canada, was present when the incident happened.
John said, “At first we just watched and we didn’t know if we should interfere because, you know, it’s Mother Nature.”
The eagle was likely to drown, so the staff of the Mowi West Canada decided to intervene.
Ilett maneuvered a pike pole in the water to pull the octopus over to the boat.
The crew managed to haul both of the animals on the boat, slowly disentangling the bird from the strong tentacles of the octopus.
After saving the bald eagle, the crew threw the octopus back into the water.
Jennifer Mather, an octopus expert at the University of Lethbridge, said, “He deprived the poor octopus of a good meal.”
Jennifer said octopuses are usually predators, and they seek out whenever food is nearby.
Talking about the octopus, Jennifer said they are wide when it comes to their prey choice.
She added, “If something is on the surface of the water, and the octopus is close to the surface of the water, it’s food.”
Giant Pacific Octopus in the region are capable of growing quite large, with some weighing as much as 115 pounds.
Jennifer said cephalopods can appear daunting in size and are usually shy, forcing them to hide away when they realize something is nearby.
After the eagle was pried from its grasp, the octopus went to dive into the depths of the water.
As it swam down, its colors subtly shifted from reddish to brown.
The shaken eagle perched warily on a nearby log before flying off.
Talking about the incident, Ilett said, “It was a very cool situation. I’ve been out here 20 years and that’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.”
What do you think about the video above? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below!