Current:Home > StocksEpic battle between heron and snake in Florida wildlife refuge caught on camera-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Epic battle between heron and snake in Florida wildlife refuge caught on camera
View Date:2024-12-23 23:26:36
A Florida photographer was slowly cruising through St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, south of Tallahassee, searching for his next great shot when a battle of the food chain unwound before his eyes.
About 40 yards away, George Stinson watched as a great blue heron thrashed around in the swamp reeds with something large in its mouth. Stinson hopped out of the car and quickly started snapping photos of the short-lived wrestling match. Even though he was unsure of what precisely he saw, he knew this was an "absolutely unique" moment.
It wasn't until he got home and flipped through the shots he had taken over the course of his trip in the preserve, roughly 30 miles away from Florida's capital, that Stinson was able to identify the big bird's opponent: a snake.
His photos revealed a viral moment in the making: The long snake caught in the bird's mouth while it coiled around the bird's long, dagger-like beak.
"Great blue herons will eat anything," he said. "So this one grabbed a snake that was just a little bit too hot to handle."
Patience, luck needed to secure shot
After retiring from the Florida Department of Revenue, Stinson picked up photography — a hobby that has sent him chronicling wildlife across the world.
Nature photographers, he has learned, rely on two things: patience and luck.
Stinson happened to be at the right place at just the right time to get a photo unlike any of the other dozens of blue heron pictures he's taken before.
"Usually when you take a picture like this, you know you've got a good one, because your heart's racing," he said.
Everyone was a winner Monday afternoon: The animals agreed to a truce and let go of one another after their four-minute battle, and Stinson captured one of his top 10 favorite shots he's ever taken.
All he could think when flipping through his photos was "Wow — That's a money shot."
Elena Barrera can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter@elenabarreraaa.
veryGood! (7)
Related
- Arkansas governor unveils $102 million plan to update state employee pay plan
- John Krasinski Revealed as People's Sexiest Man Alive 2024
- Ex-Duke star Kyle Singler draws concern from basketball world over cryptic Instagram post
- Arkansas governor unveils $102 million plan to update state employee pay plan
- Horoscopes Today, November 13, 2024
- Guns smuggled from the US are blamed for a surge in killings on more Caribbean islands
- Oprah Winfrey denies being paid $1M for Kamala Harris rally: 'I was not paid a dime'
- Wendi McLendon-Covey talks NBC sitcom 'St. Denis Medical' and hospital humor
- Mike Tyson has lived a wild life. These 10 big moments have defined his career
- About Charles Hanover
Ranking
- Get Your Home Holiday-Ready & Decluttered With These Storage Solutions Starting at $14
- Ex-Duke star Kyle Singler draws concern from basketball world over cryptic Instagram post
- Stock market today: Asian stocks dip as Wall Street momentum slows with cooling Trump trade
- 'Bizarre:' Naked man arrested after found in crawl space of California woman's home
- Chicago Bears will ruin Caleb Williams if they're not careful | Opinion
- Ariana Grande's Brunette Hair Transformation Is a Callback to Her Roots
- Spirit Airlines cancels release of Q3 financial results as debt restructuring talks heat up
- Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul referee handled one of YouTuber's biggest fights
Recommendation
-
Police cruiser strikes and kills a bicyclist pulling a trailer in Vermont
-
Disruptions to Amtrak service continue after fire near tracks in New York City
-
Olivia Munn began randomly drug testing John Mulaney during her first pregnancy
-
NFL overreactions: New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys going nowhere after Week 10
-
Horoscopes Today, November 13, 2024
-
The Bachelorette's Desiree Hartsock Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 3 With Chris Siegfried
-
Travis Kelce's and Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Houses Burglarized
-
Glen Powell Addresses Rumor He’ll Replace Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible Franchise