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Midair battle between fox and eagle over rabbit caught on video

Posted at 8:38 AM, May 23, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-23 08:38:20-04

Video above used with permission from Photographer Zachary Hartje

SAN JUAN ISLAND, Wash. – Nature can be incredible – and the Pacific Northwest certainly doesn't disappoint.

Photographer Kevin Ebi with LivingWilderness.com caught a rare moment last weekend at Washington state's San Juan Island National Historical Park:

"Here is something you don't see every day: a bald eagle and a young fox fighting over a rabbit — more than 20 feet in the air!"

Ebi said he was photographing a group of fox kits as they hunted rabbits. He noticed one of the red foxes grab a rabbit and carry it across the meadow.

Used with permission from Kevin Ebi at LivingWilderness.com.

"Then behind me, I heard the cry of a bald eagle," he wrote in a blog entry. "I turned around and saw it approaching fast. I knew it wanted the rabbit. I intently trained my camera on the fox bracing for a split second of action."

Used with permission from Kevin Ebi at LivingWilderness.com.

The images Ebi captured tell the story best:

Used with permission from Kevin Ebi at LivingWilderness.com.

Used with permission from Kevin Ebi at LivingWilderness.com.

Used with permission from Kevin Ebi at LivingWilderness.com.

Eventually, the eagle wrestles away the rabbit from the fox and flies away.

The fox kit appeared to be unharmed, Ebi said, but had to start the search for dinner all over again.

Used with permission from Kevin Ebi at LivingWilderness.com.

See more images from Kevin Ebi at LivingWilderness.com here.