Cormorant Brutality on a Common Merganser
(Video)
Setting out to shoot video of Neotropic Cormorants in Northern Utah, I was stunned by an act of brutality by a Double Crested Cormorant on a Common Merganser!
(Note: This video was shot on July 26, 2010, a strange time of year to see a Common Merganser in the Salt Lake Valley! But, if you look closely at the Merganser photo below, you'll see serious damage to its left wing, rendering it incapable of flight.)
The list of 'actors' are:
1) The Victim, a Common Merganser, new to Mill Race Pond (Taylorsville, UT.):
2) The Villian, a Double Crested Cormorant with an attitude!
3) The Heros, a Trio of Neotropic Cormorants I've been documenting
The story opens with the three NECOs swimming/fishing, with the DCCO not far behind. I noticed a Common Merganser successfully taking fish, and turned my camera on him since he was new to the pond. The Merganser had caught a small catfish, and was swimming with it in his beak, when suddenly from under the water emerged the DCCO, deftly snatching the fish from the Merganser and swimming away with the prize. I followed the DCCO with my camera as he finished his stolen meal. Then, the DCCO suddenly turned back to the Merganser with a vengeance and chased the Merganser out of the water and onto the bank. It then grabbed the Merganser by the back of the neck (much like humans would pick up a cat) and into and through the water, with jerking and ripping motions. The Merganser seemed to be paralyzed and was pulled about in the water like a rag doll. I began to sense that this was the end of the Merganser... Yet, the Neotropic Cormorant Trio that I have been routinely photographing were fishing in close proximity to the DCCO-Merganser foray. To my surprise and relief, the NECOs abruptly moved as a team to confront the DCCO gripping the Merganser. The NECO with breeding plumage was the first to hammer the DCCO hard enough to force it to release the Merganser!
(Note: the file is somewhat large and will take several minutes to load. ENJOY)
Click HERE to view the DCCO-Merganser video in High Resolution (takes about 3 min. to upload)
Click HERE for a low resolution video, for those in a hurry