An angler in Florida was shocked when bald eagle swooped down to steal his freshly caught shark.
Chad Rissman and his uncle were visiting Dunedin, Florida when they decided to try their luck fishing.
As the sun began to set, there was finally a nibble and then a strike on the line. Chad began to reel in the fish while his wife Amanda filmed the action. As the fish neared shore, Chad’s uncle went to pull in the line but was startled when a bird darted in to steal the fish.
The group watched in amazement as a bald eagle held the small, freshly caught shark in its talons in the shallow waters off Dunedin Causeway. After their initial shock wore off, they were able to remove the line and, more importantly, the hook from the fish.
The bald eagle stayed near the beach for the next 20 minutes and ignored onlookers who watched it consume the shark. This is because of the eagle’s familiarity with humans who helped it in 2017 when it was rescued after breaking its leg.
Rescuers named the bird Eugene and have seen her flying around the area at various times. In this case, Eugene saw the opportunity to pick up an easy meal and scooped up the small shark.
While the Rissman family was able to remove the hook before the bird was injured, that is not always the case. Should you hook or witness a bird hooked on fishing line, rescuers advise reeling in the bird and removing the hook. Cutting the line and leaving the hook embedded could lead to the bird’s entanglement and death.
If you are uncomfortable or cannot remove the hook, alert authorities who can help.
Another bird went viral last year after stealing a fish.
In June 2020, Ashley White filmed a bird flying with what appeared to be a shark from her Myrtle Beach, South Carolina balcony.
Internet users from across the globe joined in guessing what type of bird and fish were involved.
Eventually, experts weighed in and the mystery of what type of bird and fish was confirmed as an osprey carrying a large Spanish mackerel.
rds are not always the top predator when it comes to fish. In 2010 researchers began finding backyard songbirds in the stomachs of oceangoing tiger sharks.
