PRAIRIE DOG AND STARLING STAND-OFF
This starling and prairie dog will not back down an inch as they have a fearsome stand-off over who gets to eat a nut. The cute rodent and the adult bird locked horns at a US zoo earlier this month to go to face to face to see who would stare the other out and grab the food. Despite the dog picking up the nut moments before, ready to chew down on his tasty find for lunch, the starling flew in to challenge him. And it was the feathered thief who won the battle as it simply pecked the nut out of the hands of the white tailed dog and flew off to target its next meal. Photographer Scott Spaeth,42, grabbed the fascinating stand-off at St Louis Zoo, Missouri, and said it was commonplace for the starlings to wait for their furry friends to find food and then steal it from them. He said: "The two of them were facing off to see who got the prairie dog's lunch. "As so often in life the cunning one won and the starling got the prize. Not that the prairie dog seemed to care much, there was plenty more food laying around everywhere. "The prairie dogs eat a variety of food pellets and fresh vegetables, and they seem to know that there's no threat of shortage. "So when the starlings, who are not indigenous to North America, come and take the food right out of the prairie dog's paws, the reaction is to simply pick up another piece of food and continue eating." Scott explained the birds in the vicinity of the zoo have such power over the smaller animals around them, they always win the fights over food. He said: "What I find interesting about the starlings is they will not pick up the food from the ground. "If a prairie dog picks up a new piece of food too close to the starling that just stole from him, the starling will drop the stolen food to go after the prairie dog again. "It's just an incredible sight, and I've never seen anything like it elsewhere, outside of humans that is.
Other great stories
CHILD SHEPHERDS OF THE SIMIEN MOUNTAINS
CARRYING a fully grown goat on his back, this five-year-old boy is a child shepherd in the mountains of northern Ethiopia .
WOMAN DESPERATE TO LOOK LIKE CHERYL COLE OVERCOMES ANOREXIA
A woman who starved herself to look like Cheryl Cole has told how she shrunk to just under 5st 13lbs after developing anorexia .
SCOTTISH COUPLE MARRY INSIDE BEAUTIFUL ICELANDIC CAVE
BEAUTIFULLY lit by the dim glow of lanterns, a cave in Iceland is transformed into the perfect wedding venue .
PHILEAS FROG: KERMIT'S WORLD TRAVELS CONTINUE PREV
A Kermit the Frog toy made famous by travelling the world is still globehopping, having racked up an incredible 420,000 kilometres to some of the world's furthest flung places .
GARY BARLOW SUPERFAN LOSES 11ST AFTER ‘HORRIFYING’ SELFIE
A Gary Barlow superfan has lost an incredible 11st after a selfie with the pop star left her horrified by her 22st 9lb figure .
ANGER AS BLOCKBUSTER ADVERTISES EMPLOYEES JOBS TO MAKE THEM “WORK HARDER”
Struggling home entertainment chain Blockbuster has been slammed for advertising its workers' jobs while they are still in them in order to scare them into working harder .
MAKING A SPLASH - GORILLA GOES APE IN WATER
While often referred to as the kings of the jungle, gorillas - for all their might - are notorious hydrophobes .
'MUM OF THE YEAR' FALSELY CLAIMED DEAD HUSBAND'S BENEFITS
Kelly Harvey, 30 and new boyfriend Ryan Archbold -A bereaved wife once voted Mum Of The Year has been convicted of benefit fraud after claiming widow's allowance long after her new partner had moved in .
INTIMATE PORTRAITS OF HINDU HOLY MEN
COVERING themselves in ash and face paint, these are the holy men who live their lives away from everyday society .
ADORABLE OWLS SHELTER FROM THE RAIN
HUDDLING under a leaf, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls take shelter from the rain .
WORLD’S LARGEST JIGSAW
Made up of 40,000 pieces, putting in over 200 hours of work and blunting endless blades, this is the final result for the world’s largest jigsaw, finally finished on Wednesday .
TAXIDERMY ART BOOK
A KITTEN'S teaparty and rat's playing dominoes are the bizarre creations by one of Britain's great eccentrics pictured in an incredible new book .