Video: Snapping Turtle vs. Pelican
OutdoorHub Reporters 08.01.16
As kids we all played “eenie meenie miney moe” under the guise of catching a tiger by the toe. Access to tiger toe’s is pretty limited for most people, but this statement applies even more so to turtles. Since you have to make the best of what’s around, one turtle made a grab for a pelican “toe” instead.
On Lake of the Woods near to Sioux Narrows, Ontario, CBC Thunder Bay reporter Gord Ellis was about to have lunch with some companions. Hanging out close to the group was a pack of white pelicans looking for some fish scraps to eat. Suddenly one of the birds began to act erratically, flapping its wings and attempting to move away from something in the water.
That something, it turns out, was a snapping turtle. As seen in the video below, the snapper manages to latch on to the pelican’s webbed foot. The bird thrashes about, trying to break free, and eventually does so a couple minutes later.
Although large enough snapping turtles can do great damage to a pelican, luckily this particular snapper was not of great size. The bite was likely unpleasant, but certainly survivable, and the two involved in this altercation were able to separate and go their own way.
