Canada goose fights off bald eagle in rare, symbolism-laden battle on ice
Ontarion photographer Mervyn Sequeira captures 20-minute clash between birds emblematic of Canada and US amid high trade tensions. For the second time in weeks, a Canadian icon has emerged as the unlikely victor in an existential battle on the ice.
A Canada goose faces off against a bald eagle in Burlington, Ontario. Mervyn Sequeira: ‘Not often does one see our apex raptor, the American bald eagle attempting to take down a Canada goose.
“I’ve seen bald eagles take a lot of things, from ducks to muskrats. But this is the first time I’ve seen a bald eagle go in for something as big as a goose,” Sequeira said.
Despite multiple attacks by the eagle, the goose remained unbowed. The raptor, defeated, flew off.
At a time when Canada’s sovereignty has come under unprecedented threat from Donald Trump’s US, the battle between the two birds closely associated with each country has emerged as the latest symbol of tensions between the two countries.
“We’ve been in tough spots before … but we have not only survived, we have emerged stronger than ever, because when it comes to defending our great nation, there is no price we all aren’t willing to pay, and today is no different,” Trudeau told Canadians.
“It’s quite a coincidence that it should have happened at this time. And I’m not entirely surprised. I like to look at things from the naturalist point of view and from the wildlife photographer’s point of view and not put a spin on it. But it’s quite natural for people to look at it in the context of what’s happening,”Sequeira said.
Certainly others see the fight as representing Canada’s scrappy nature and its unwillingness to back away when threatened.
“Nature has its way of taking out the weak and the not so well and the injured. The eagle likely thought it would be able to take it out quite easily,” Sequeira said. “But, it wasn’t.”
