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Kayaker Rescues Owl Being Dive-bombed by Ravens: PHOTOS

Owls are one of nature’s most skilled silent predators. As such, we’re surprised to learn one gorgeous snowy owl required human help after being dive-bombed by a group of ravens.

The yellow-eyed bird saw help from none other than a pair of kayakers. The empathetic pair recovered the owl after the sleek birds had forced it into a river.

Photo by Kara Montague

According to the Facebook post over on the page, “Inuit Hunting stories of the day,” kayaker Billy L R Gauthier had been out kayaking on the North West River when he and his companion, Kara Montague, saw the incident take place.

The pair noticed the owl as it was forced down into the water by the aggressive ravens. While Gauthier did not see the great creature in the water, Montague knew it was in the lake.

Photo by Kara Montague

After 10 minutes spent searching, the pair of kayakers located the owl. Gauthier then reached out to the bird with his paddle. He gently maneuvered it close to his kayak, where the owl was able to climb onto the front of the boat.

From there, the snowy owl spent 15 minutes simply recovering, while perching on the kayak watching Gauthier. Soon after, it identified a different spot to roost on dryer land.

“It was an amazing experience having his yellow eyes staring straight at me,” Gauthier wrote.

Photo by Kara Montague

Owl Bests Venemous Snake in Dynamic Battle for Survival

As mentioned above, owls are astute hunters and silent predators. Their keen senses of sight and hearing are crucial to their survival, frequently putting them at the top of the food chain. Further, their unique feathers enable the great creatures to fly almost soundlessly, providing them a major advantage over their prey.

However, one mighty great-horned owl experienced quite the shock when it was jumped by a starving pit viper.

Trail cam footage shows the smaller diamondback snake lashing out at the great horned owl, seemingly just latching onto its feathers. From there, the reptilian creature suffers quite the consequence. The clip captures the moments after the snake latches onto the great-horned owl, the bird throwing its wings wide and taking to the air almost immediately after touching down.

While snakes, especially larger species such as rattlesnakes, tend to consume a variety of prey, all ranging in size, the venomous creature was assumed to be near-starving to attempt an attack on owls’ largest species.

Unfortunately, the videographer, identified only as “The Desert Whisperer” was unable to provide further footage. Therefore, we are left wondering if a) the snake actually did die of starvation or b) the creature was able to inject the great-horned owl with its venom.

Overall, the outcome is uncertain. Although it appears, despite the short battle, both parties were able to walk away immediately after with little consequence. The end of the clip shows the owl rapidly disappearing into the background of the setting. Meanwhile, despite the snake’s encounter with what appears to be a nearby log, it pops its head out of the water, bobbing in dismay.