BRITISH COLUMBIA, Canada — Spend a little time with a fisherman, and you’ll hear a few fish tales – but rarely one like this.
“We could hear a bunch of screeching and water splashing sounds,” John Ilett told CTV News
He’s the manager of Mowi Canada West fish farm in the tiny town of Quatsino. You can only get there on a boat – or in a float plane.
And that’s where Illett saw an octopus try to eat a bald eagle.
He said it looked like the two impressive predators were locked in a stalemate – at first. Then, he could tell the eagle was going to lose.
“...submerged in the water with a big giant octopus in the water trying to drag it down," Illett said in a CNN interview.
But he wasn’t sure what to do.
“It is mother nature, survival of the fittest," Ilett said.
"But it was heart-wrenching.”
Ultimately, he decided to intervene. Ilett hooked the octopus and gave it a little tug. He says that’s all it took to get the sea creature to let go.
As for whether that was the right decision…opinions vary.
“If something is on the surface of the water, and the octopus is close to the surface of the water, it’s food,” Jennifer Mather said in an article for The Guardian.
She’s an octopus expert from the University of Lethbridge in Canada.
That said – it would be hard to stand by and watch such an incredible bird become fish food.
“Neither species is considered at risk, so farmers needn’t feel obliged to intervene. But, the octopus will find another meal,” Laura Parfey told CTV News.
She’s an assistant Botany and Zoology professor at the University of British Columbia.
You can watch the video of wild encounter here:
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