A remarkable encounter between an Imperial Eagle and a Red Fox
- 22nd January 2003.

While enjoying good views of a young Imperial Eagle at Yotvata, I was lucky enough to witness a remarkable interaction between the eagle and a Red Fox. The Imperial Eagle had been perched in the sand dunes for a while before the fox made an appearance. Curiosity seemed to get the better of the fox, and for some reason it ensisted on persistently sniffing at the eagle, at what I would have thought to be dangerously close range.

I can't imagine that the fox had any serious intentions of attempting the take the eagle for a meal, but after a while the eagle became impatient with the fox's attention. To my amazement, the eagle dropped down and began a foot chase across the sand running like a turkey, which of course was no contest for the fox. There then followed a remarkable dance between bird and mammal centered around the Haloxylon bushes, the fox playing hide n' seek with the eagle.

Could the fox really have just been 'playing' with the eagle? Surely, it couldn't have been thinking of the eagle as a prey item. So what was it up to? In my opinion, given the size of an Imperial Eagle's talons, I think the fox was playing a very dangerous game. What do you think could have been happening here?

Enjoy the images,

James Smith.