Is it weird that I saluted this video when I watched it the first time?
There’s just something about watching the United States’ national bird do its thing that screams patriotism to me. I don’t think that’s a stretch, and I can’t be the only one that feels the same way. Hopefully one of you readers out there will salute this clip too, at the very least out of solidarity for my patriotic appreciation.
The bald eagle is one of the more ferocious birds of prey in the animal kingdom. Sometimes they do their own hunting, while other times they just wait for other animals to do it for them and steal it away. I once heard the bald eagle described as a “vulture with a good PR agent,” and that’s actually rather spot on.
Though bald eagles will track down their own food, like rabbits, muskrats and surprisingly water fowl, they’ll just as quickly use their incomparable vision to track down a carcass and swoop down to claim it as their own. Resourceful and opportunistic, just like the American people. Maybe that’s why it got the title of national bird?
In this clip, it’s unclear as to how the bald eagle ended up with a fish in its razor-sharp talons, but one could assume that it picked up the fish from somewhere. And it could have pulled it out of the water shortly before this video was recorded, because gruesomely, the fish is still flopping on land like… well, a fish out of water.
The bald eagle isn’t necessarily “finishing the job” with the fish initially, letting it wiggle and suffer all while it slowly digs its talons into what some in the comments called “fresh sushi.” Bright red blood splashes onto the white snow around the fish, serving as a reminder that nature can be cruel, and bald eagles are often easily in control in situations like these.
Though I will say, this bald eagle’s parents must have never told their youngling to not play with their food. This is a classic case of “put it out of its misery already.” But then again, maybe this is all part of the fish-eating-process for big birds. At the very least, the eagle is enjoying some of the freshest sushi the world has to offer.
Take a look:
