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Photographer Captures Savage Moment Seagull Swallows Rabbit Whole

Photographer Captures Savage Moment Seagull Swallows Rabbit Whole

Photographer Irene Mendez Cruz, 28, from Bristol, was behind the camera

EMS 7

EMS 7

If you thought Watership Down was a tough pill to swallow, get a load of the footage below.

The video, captured by a wildlife photographer, shows the moment a seagull swallowed a rabbit whole. And here we were thinking it was just a few stray chips they were after.

Marine and natural history photographer Irene Mendez Cruz, 28, from Bristol, was behind the camera.

Irene Mendez Cruz/Caters

While on holiday in the remote Welsh island of Skokholm in May, she spotted the seagull approaching its prey, having been warned about the creatures' strange and unsettling behaviour by the wardens of the island.

As well has rabbits, great black-backed gulls were also said to hunt and kill smaller seagulls and puffins.

Sure enough, the warning came true when Irene witnessed the sizeable bird killing its prey - a very cute bunny rabbit - before swallowing the poor thing whole.

Irene Mendez Cruz/Caters

Irene was on stand to capture the moment in all of its hideous glory, proving to be a young David Attenborough in the making.

"I was shocked myself, but it is the circle of life," she said. "Seeing this apex predator in the wild and catching prey, as opposed to in the city going through bins was truly impressive.

"Great black-backed gulls are the largest gulls in the world and in this island, they are at the top of the food chain.

"It took some time and dedication to capture this shot, as you never know when the hunt will happen, but I am happy to have managed to capture this moment.

"The footage might come across as a bit disturbing, however this gull has to eat something and has small chicks to feed."

Irene Mendez Cruz/Caters

She raises a good point - death might not be pretty, but it's a fact of life. Animals need to kill other animals to eat and feed their offspring.

We're so used to seeing city gulls eating scraps of takeaways, but this is how they hunt in the wild.

Although perhaps they could have better table manners than the one in this video. Do they make Rennie for birds?

Then again, when have seagulls ever been known for their manners...

Featured Image Credit: Caters

Topics: UK News, Animals, Wales