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
HUBBY SAVED ME FROM BEING MAULED BY NEIGHBOUR’S FRIEND WHO TORE CHUNK OUT OF MY CHEEK AND LEFT ME SCARRED FOR LIFE
A mother-of-one has revealed how a neighbour’s friend ‘mauled’ her face, leaving her scarred for life .
A SMILEY GECKO SHEDS ITS SKIN AS HEATWAVE HITS BRITAIN
STRETCHING his little legs in the air, a smiley leaf-tailed gecko breaks free from his old, scaly skin .
FIREFLIES ILLUMINATE AN ENCHANTING FOREST IN TAIWAN
Like a scene from a fairytale, THOUSANDS of fireflies create an enchanting glow as they dance in a forest .
WOMAN RECORDED VIOLENT BF STRANGLING HER AND THREATENING TO KILL HER WITH A KNIFE- WHEN HE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED HER SHE SAW HIM JAILED
Gabrielle Dale, 26, was subjected to seven years of coercive control and physical abuse at the hands of her violent boyfriend Sean Owen, 29 .
RELAXING SNOW MONKEY
WITHOUT A care in the world, this little snow monkey puts his feet up and settles in for a snooze .
IN FLIGHT MEAL
This is the amazing moment two white-tailed kites take an in-flight meal - exchanging prey at 100 foot high in mid air .
THE FIRST LADY OF FASHION APP
She was recently named Best Dressed Woman in a new list and is regarded as one of the most stylish women in the world .
TROUBLESOME PYLON MEETS EXPLOSIVE END
THIS is the EXPLOSIVE moment when a 50 metre high pylon came crashing down to earth in a rural field .
NAKED SLACKLINERS TACKLE NEW CHALLENGES
BALANCING 30 metres above ground, these slackliners take the expression of living dangerously one step further, by tightrope walking NAKED .
FUNKY BUMP
HOTSPOT MEDIA - FUNKY BUMP: FROM MIRROR bellies to rainbow bumps these pregnancy casts of stone and bronze could be the funkiest way to preserve your bump for posterity .
WOMAN LOSES 13ST AFTER BEATING HALF-TON POTATO ADDICTION
A woman has lost over 13st after beating her addiction to POTATOES .