Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/06/20/rare-video-of-a-white-owl-swim.html
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I am one with the force. The force is with me.
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While it looks rather beautiful, National Geographic reports that this behavior is a “last resort” for the bird, which has 5-pound weights tied to his little feet.
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“Notice the sheep dont fly, so much as plummet”
This isnt a swimming owl, its a drowning owl. Glad there was a happier ending there.
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When there’s a video of an animal doing something unusual thing on the internets, be assured that the sad explanation is not far behind. “We see this so-called ‘cuddling’ behavior when the parasitic fungus devouring the puppy’s brain is ready to burst out of its eye sockets to infect the kitten”
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Right. Dunno about Arizona, but it is likely around here such birds that fall in the water get eaten by big, toothy fish.
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Arizona varies, but the desert parts generally don’t have much in the way of fish, since most wadis and streambeds only have flowing water immediately after a rainstorm, and dry out soon after.
The slot canyons near Lake Powell are like that. Dry as a bone most of the time; can fill with rainwater torrents from thunderstorms so distant you don’t even hear them in less time than it takes a hiker to scramble up the slot’s sheer rock face. They lose hikers that way every once in a while.
But hungry fish are unlikely. (-:
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I saw a snapper take a duck last year, it just disappeared. Sploop.
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particularly dangerous for an owl since owls have extra-fuzzy feathers for flying more quietly, which also makes their feathers act more like towels. lots of owls die from being soaked for too long in the rain, and besides that, for most birds of prey, from what I know the death rate is somewhere around half or three quarters not making it to adulthood (usually 2 years). this one is very lucky and still has a long way to go.
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Swimming is just flight in a different fluid…swimming is just flight in a different fluid…swimming is just flight in a different fluid…swimming is just flight in a different fluid…swimming is just flight in a different fluid…
Panic
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I’ve yet to see it but esox species are known to take goslings and ducklings, or even full grown ones up to a third of their length.
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Dude is so not going to hogwarts.
Not to mention the other kind of snapper, which can hit 35lbs and will probably be a threat to swans, never mind ducks.
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That’s the kind I meant
Ah, my bad. I thought you meant one of those.
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