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In the wild, Andrew feeds on fish, sponges, small crustaceans, nematode worms and protozoans.
Benny's diet is very specialized, consisting mainly of the interior of Ramy nuts, nectar from the Traveller's Palm tree, some fungi and insect grubs. He is also known to raid coconut plantations, and has been seen eating lychees and mangoes, which are also plantation crops.
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Category: Photography • heron • rabbit
Posted on: October 31, 2008 3:16 PM, by Benny Bleiman
Wildlife photographer Ad Sprang snapped these shots while shooting in Vianen, Holland as seen in the Telegraph.
Due to Andrew's irrational yet understandable love of fuzzy little rabbits, all the pics can be found below the fold...
Shoutout to Nick "Cop-Killer" Van Der Horst for bringing these pics to our attention!
Brain & BehaviorTrackBack URL for this entry: http://scienceblogs.com/mt/pings/84736
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Comments
That poor bun is terrified! Please don't let Mr. Foofy see this!
Posted by: Jason Brunet | October 31, 2008 4:48 PM
I think the most impressive, or scary (?), part of that story is that the heron *knew* it had to drown the the rabbit.
Posted by: NoAstronomer | October 31, 2008 4:53 PM
BURP
Posted by: natural cynic | October 31, 2008 5:10 PM
I once watched a black-crowned night heron eat a pretty big fish. The fish was alive going in and you could see it flopping inside the heron's neck as it went down his throat.
Posted by: ym | October 31, 2008 5:46 PM
Almost as squickish as the pigeon eating pelican.
Posted by: Jason | October 31, 2008 5:59 PM
I used to raise rabbits when I was a kid. That series of photos was like a trainwreck. Couldn't stop looking at it, despite the horror. I kinda hate you for posting that.
Posted by: Rogue Epidemiologist | October 31, 2008 6:31 PM
Damn rabbits have been destroying my garden. How can I encourage this kind of bird to eat my rabbits?
Posted by: John P | November 1, 2008 9:50 AM
note to self: read post titles before clicking around for pictures.
note to self: don't assume all bunny pictures are cute.
o____0
Posted by: y | November 1, 2008 11:56 AM
That was an awesome series of shots!!
I've seen a blue heron around here chasing a muskrat, but didn't catch it. Hopefully the day it does I'll be around to watch!
Posted by: eric | November 1, 2008 6:11 PM
How does a heron catch a rabbit anyway? Was this rabbit unusually slow and/or "special"?
Posted by: Size | November 1, 2008 8:17 PM
The drowning bit impresses me. Do we have any idea about the intelligence level of herons? Do they have a general instinctive mechanism for making land animals stop moving by holding them under water?
Posted by: phisrow | November 1, 2008 9:30 PM
I'm not sure how much intelligence that takes. 'Being underwater too long = death' is something that most airbreathing animals have hopefully got a handle on by now, and any animal that lives near the water will likely have seen various species drown before. The connection isn't difficult to make.
Posted by: Myles | November 2, 2008 4:29 AM
I don't know any wild rabbits that are that color. I have a feeling that this rabbit was stunned and thrown in the heron's general area.
Posted by: LuxyLyx | November 2, 2008 9:55 PM
I love wildlife. It is quite interesting that Heron first drowns rabbit.
Posted by: hikaye | November 3, 2008 12:53 AM
Ugh...all I could think about was in 5th grade when we disected owl pellets for shrew bones....and this is just large scale...
Posted by: Zelly | November 3, 2008 2:55 AM
John P: "Damn rabbits have been destroying my garden. How can I encourage this kind of bird to eat my rabbits?"
Put a pond into your garden and stock it with goldfish. Or koi or something like that. After the herons have been by and eaten all your fish, perhaps they might go after your rabbits.
Posted by: Paul Clapham | November 3, 2008 12:31 PM
I doubt the drowning bit. A wet rabbit would go down easier than a dry one, so it seems to me the heron simply made its prey more slippery. Or it might just have dropped the rabbit in the water and picked it up again. They're not that intelligent.
Posted by: Frits B | November 4, 2008 8:18 AM
Take a look at this:
Rat kebab makes a change from fish for hungry heron
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article5119605.ece
Seems the European herons have learned to dine on rat kebabs. Perhaps the bunny was a case of mistaken identity. This behavior may not be that uncommon.
Posted by: Jason R | November 9, 2008 9:23 PM
Thanks a lot Yes Thats is a good idea
Posted by: hikaye | November 10, 2008 11:43 AM
ı don't know any wild rabbits that are that color. I have a feeling that this rabbit was stunned and thrown in the heron's general area.
Posted by: neon | April 11, 2009 9:13 AM
Thanks for your share sure ..
Posted by: bilgisayar teknik servis | November 22, 2009 11:08 PM
I agree with mr 20, this looks like a domestic rabbit...
Posted by: josh dent | November 29, 2009 8:25 AM
I, too, have experienced the heron's interest in young rabbits, about 8 years ago whilst walking along the North Esk in Angus, Scotland. In that spring there was an absolute carpet of rabbits along the river bank and I heard the familiar scream of a baby rabbit. On looking across the river I saw a heron with rabbit in beak just taking off. The heron was only a couple of feet off the ground when the rabbit fell to earth, hopped a few times and resumed grazing! I had thought it unusual and imagined that the heron was just fed-up with the little pests disturbing him and wanted to make a point!
Posted by: Virginia Aspinwall | May 18, 2010 11:22 AM
I would have shot it. Hate those damn birds, I see them trying to get koi from my pond during the summer.
Posted by: Tim | December 10, 2010 3:58 AM
How does a heron catch a rabbit, ı couldnt understand.
Posted by: fue | December 29, 2010 4:06 AM
I, too, have experienced the heron's interest in young rabbits, about 8 years ago whilst walking along the North Esk in Angus, Scotland. In that spring there was an absolute carpet of rabbits along the river bank and I heard the familiar scream of a baby rabbit. On looking across the river I saw a heron with rabbit in beak just taking off. The heron was only a couple of feet off the ground when the rabbit fell to earth, hopped a few times and resumed grazing! I had thought it unusual and imagined that the heron was just fed-up with the little pests disturbing him and wanted to make a point!
Posted by: güvenlik kameraları | May 1, 2011 9:46 AM