This Bald Eagle Could Have Fucked Up This Canada Goose, But Didn't Because It Is Brutal Yet Merciful

In a wildlife metaphor for Can-Am relations, or perhaps just another instance of nature being awesome, a bald eagle let a Canada goose know it could murder it any time it wants, but merely chooses not to.

These photographs, the full sequence of which can be seen on the Vancouver Island Images Facebook page, show a scuffle between large birds that went down last weekend. The photographer, Lisa Bell, told CTV News the eagle came out of nowhere and pinned the goose to the ground.

“There was a whole bunch of noise to begin with,” she recalled. “The eagle was sitting on the goose. I scooted to get my camera, and when I came back down he was still there. The goose basically was playing dead.”

Bell said the goose scuffled free, probably only because the eagle allowed it to live, then flew for the safety(?) of a nearby pond with the eagle in hot, majestic pursuit.

The eagle allowed the goose to escape, and the goose was apparently fine, with “a few minor talon scratches” and also a newfound fear of god.

[ CTV News | Vancouver Island Images]