Gray seal spits water stream at eagle in first recorded interaction
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A gray seal spits a stream of water at a white-tailed eagle in the first recorded interaction between the two species on England's Isle of Wight. (Photo courtesy of Clare Jacobs/University of Portsmouth)
March 7 (UPI) -- A birdwatcher on England's Isle of Wight captured a photo of a gray seal spitting a stream of water at a white-tailed eagle, marking the first time the two species have been seen interacting.
University of Portsmouth researchers authored a study detailing the interaction witnessed by birdwatcher Clare Jacobs in Newtown Harbor.
Jacobs witnessed a white-tailed eagle swooping down to the surface of the water during high tide and being met by an adult gray seal that emerged directly beneath the raptor.
Jacobs said the seal barked a warning at the eagle before letting loose with a stream of a water aimed toward the swooping bird.
"I'm always thrilled to catch photos of the eagles. But catching such a rare and never before seen interaction made my year," Jacobs said in a University of Portsmouth news release.
Megan Jacobs, the birdwatcher's daughter and a paleontologist at the University of Portsmouth's School of the Environment, Geography and Geosciences, co-authored the study based on her mother's encounter and the photos she snapped of the interaction.
"Sightings of gray seals and white-tailed eagles are frequent events now on the Isle of Wight, but interactions between these two species have so far not been reported," Megan Jacobs said.
She said the photographs mark multiple firsts for researchers.
"This is the first record of an interaction between these two top predators and the first report of gray seals using spitting as a means of defense or deterrence against an aerial foe," she said.
"The spitting may be a strategy to exclude white-tailed eagles from competing for prey as they're in direct competition for fish resources."
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