Wildlife
photographer Robin Morrison captured the struggle between the three
wild creatures as he was walking through a wood near Ilminster,
Somerset.
Gotcha! After 20 minutes of fighting this stoat manages to kill his rabbit foe in a Somerset wood
What's that? The stoat is busy trying to work out how to move the body when something approaches in the distance
Leg it! The stoat leaves the rabbit and heads for the safety of hiding behind a tree trunk as the fox runs in
His pictures show the fight
between rabbit and stoat perfectly and the winner fleeing without his
dinner as the much larger fox arrived.
'I was out with the camera at
the weekend and witnessed an amazing battle of life between a rabbit, a
stoat and a cunning fox,' he said.
'This
was an example of the brutal reality of British wildlife and was a
stunning event to observe as it unfolded in front of me and the camera.
Battle begins: The stoat and rabbit fight in the leaves with the picture slightly blurred because of the speed of the attack
Wrestling: They writhe around and at this point the stoat appears to gain supremacy over his foe
Killer bite: The stoat grabs the rabbit's throat with its sharp teeth and delivers the fatal blow
Action: The rabbit's body sinks as it loses the fight for life as the stoat refuses to let go
Wriggle room: Having killed the rabbit the stoat
now tries to consider how to move the corpse - which is more than twice
his size
Who's that then? The stoat appears to notice he is being photographed from afar
'In essence, the very large rabbit was chased and caught out into the open by the stoat.
'By comparison, the stoat was tiny when compared to the rabbit but it hung on like a rodeo rider trying to kill its prey.
'The
rabbit made repeated efforts to escape the clutches of the stoat, but
eventually, the rabbit was weakening and it came back in an effort to
drag its prize under cover.
'Given
the huge size difference between the stoat and rabbit it was quite an
achievement for the stoat to succeed in dragging the now the weakened
rabbit.'
Coast's clear: The fox steams in and can't believe its luck as the freshly-killed rabbit is left on the floor
Just before the stoat tucked into it’s hard-won meal, it was stolen by a fox.
Robin, 53, was out walking on Herne Hill on Saturday morning, when he witnessed the event.
Yum: In runs the fox with the victor in the previous fight having fled sideways
Winner: The final picture show the fox struggling to hold the big rabbit in its jaws
He said: 'The stoat retreated into the undergrowth and the fox bounded up.
'It looked like the fox had a huge grin as it approached the rabbit, this was clearly an easy meal for it.
'I felt very sorry for the stoat as it lost out on a meal and would no doubt have to start all over again.
'I was lucky to be in the right place and the right time.”
He
added: 'It’s hard not to intervene and come to the aid of the rabbit,
but I had to remember that the stoat is only killing what it needs to
live and one less rabbit is not going to make a huge difference.'
Source:dailymail.co.uk
