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
JEALOUS EX TERRORISED ME FOR FIVE MONTHS
Heart pounding, Rebecca Cain jumped as a car door slammed on the street outside .
THE LITTLE MER-WIFE: DISNEY-THEMED WEDDING CREATES A SPLASH
It’s the must-have for any true Disney fan: a Little Mermaid themed wedding .
OWLS PLAY TUG-OF-WAR
TUGGING on the wing of his sibling, this needy owl is after some attention .
CATERPILLAR AND MANTIS BATTLE IT OUT
A little caterpillar fearlessly scampers down a branch and confronts a praying mantis .
VICTIM SLAMS SENTENCE AS THUG WALKS FREE FROM COURT
A woman brutally beaten in a revenge attack has slammed the soft sentence handed to her assailant .
WOMAN NEARLY DIED AFTER INFECTED ECZEMA WOUND LED TO DEADLY FLESH-EATING BUG THAT ATE A HOLE IN HER ARM
A woman was left fighting for her life after an eczema wound became infected and caused a deadly flesh-eating bug to ravish a hole in her arm .
PUPPY RUN OVER BY TRAIN GIVEN NEW LEASH OF LIFE
A tiny puppy who lost his front legs after being hit by a train has been given and new LEASH of life with a set of wheels .
BULLY HUBBY LEFT ME SCARRED FOR LIFE AFTER HEAD-BUTTING ME IN THE EYE FOLLOWING DREAM WEDDING
Lauren Kilgariff, 29, was with husband, Shaun, 31, for four years .
SUMMER ARRIVES AT LAST
Britons have finally received some good news about the weather with temperatures expected to reach 30 degrees this weekend .
SUNBATHING OTTER
A lazy otter finds the ideal spot to soak up the sun and sleep off his lunch .
VIBRANT WOODPECKER FEEDS HER YOUNG
A middle spotted woodpecker swoops into her nest and feeds her young in a forest in Trentino, Italy .