Polar carnage – Giant Petrels fighting over and eating a dead King Penguin
16.7 هزار بار بازدید -
6 سال پیش
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Huge, turkey-sized Southern Giant Petrels
Huge, turkey-sized Southern Giant Petrels (Macronectes giganteus) occur in Antarctica and the subantarctic islands as well as further north, and are both scavengers and predators. These Petrels at St. Andrew’s Bay, South Georgia had killed an adult King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) before I arrived, and were making short work of the carcass as other King Penguins stood by. The Petrels were pushing their heads and necks under the skin of the dead penguin, covering their heads and necks with blood as they extracted then ate scraps of meat. The feeding behaviour of the Petrels was reminiscent of African White-backed Vultures – with larger, stronger birds charging into the kill with their wings spread and tails raised in order to intimidate birds already there. The Petrels had a clear pecking order – smaller birds (probably mainly females) were displaced by larger ones, which were probably males. The larger Petrels squabbled and wrestled continually. There were about 15 Petrels involved, and some of them moved away from the kill for a time, apparently to rest, or entered the meltwater stream to drink and bathe. At the end of the video several King Penguins walked by the squabbling Petrels – it looked almost as though they were paying their respects to their fallen comrade.
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6 سال پیش
در تاریخ 1397/12/09 منتشر شده
است.
16,782
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