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
STRANDED POLAR BEAR
Sitting all alone on drift ice in the Arctic Ocean, this lonely little fella looks lost .
INDONESIAN TRIBE UNTOUCHED BY MODERN LIFE
An Italian photographer travelled to the highlands of New Guinea where he met an Indonesian tribe untouched by the modern world .
A BUG'S LIFE
LIKE A scene from A Bugs Life, these ants work on creating their own mini community .
STAG SHOWS OFF IMPRESSIVE HEADDRESS IN LONDON'S BUSHY PARK
A proud stag attempts to impress the females by donning an enormous fern headdress in London's Bushy Park .
AN OTTER-ONE BITES THE DUST
Throwing a right hook as he launches onto his opponent with his gnarling teeth at the ready, this is the OTTER-LY ruthless showdown between two otters .
WOMAN TOO SCARED TO LEAVE HOUSE AFTER HORROR HAIR DYE REACTION
A woman who suffered from an allergic reaction to hair dye that made her face swell to twice its size has been left too scared to leave the house .
WHITE TAILED EAGLES FIGHT FOR FOOD
The claws come out at meal time as a group of white tailed eagles brawl over road-kill .
INCREDIBLE FOG CREATES GLOWING LANDSCAPES OVER TAIWAN
A blanket of fog is lit up by the colourful glowing lights of the city below .
CHEEKY MONKEY KEEPS UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST NEWS
A small Indian monkey is seemingly gob-smacked after reading the latest stock market news .
HEARTBREAK DIET LOST ME 11.5ST AND BAGGED ME A FELLA
When Janet Curry, 38, was told she was ‘too big to date’ by a man she met on the dating website Plenty of Fish, she didn’t let it stop her from looking for love .
HOPE FOR HOMELESS HEDGEHOG
SNUGGLED up in the hay away from the elements, this adorable hoglet has sought solace with a familiar friend .
WOMAN'S CAR BURST INTO FLAMES AFTER A SEIZURE CAUSED HER TO CRASH INTO A TREE – SHE SUFFERED BURNS TO 40% OF HER BODY AND NOW SHE'S A TRIPLE AMPUTEE
Marisah pictured today with scarring to her left arm - A mother-of-one has revealed how she almost died after suffering a seizure whilst driving that caused her car to crash into a tree and burst into flames .