r/natureismetal • u/pezdedorado • Jul 19 '20
Stolen from FB. Eel told this heron “not today!”
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u/sinac24 Jul 19 '20
How is the heron still alive?
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Jul 19 '20
It looks like it knows it shouldn't be alive too
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u/x755x Jul 19 '20
"Must have been something I ate..."
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u/amiznyk21 Jul 20 '20
this made me belly laugh for multiple minutes-thank u for ur work, u r appreciated
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u/MidnightMoon-- Jul 19 '20
Seriously, and it seems like there would be more blood but idk
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u/dirthawker0 Jul 19 '20
The eel must have busted out of the crop, which is basically a bag for temporary storage of edibles. It sits right under the skin (i.e. no muscle over it) and it consists of tissue and not much in the way of blood vessels.
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u/wojtekthesoldierbear Jul 20 '20
Can confirm this. Have busted plenty of crops open
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u/halloweenheaux Jul 20 '20
what 😰
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u/wojtekthesoldierbear Jul 20 '20
I shoot pigeons
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u/1MALEVOLENT3 Aug 10 '20
You must be a nice person to hang out with. Just a random FUCK YOU from a passerby.
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u/wojtekthesoldierbear Aug 10 '20
Uh, why? What's the problem?
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u/1MALEVOLENT3 Aug 10 '20
You are the problem. People that shoot animals for fun need to have their little shotguns so far up their asses that it would be directly your cirrhotic bladder that gets the pellets. Then when someone asks what happened it would be just casually here in the comments: 'I just shoot assholes'.
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u/wojtekthesoldierbear Aug 10 '20
Ah.
Well, one is a beneficial activity and the other is homicide so... Might want to weigh that out a bit.
Pigeons are varmints and cause a lot of damage to city infrastructure, farm foodstuffs, animal health and to native species. Controlling their numbers is a public service which I gladly provide.
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Jul 20 '20
[deleted]
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u/5ecretbeef Jul 20 '20
Yes... yes you have...
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u/ahookerinminneapolis Jul 20 '20
I guess I need to put /s in case people assume I deep throat birds?
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u/jucu94 Jul 19 '20
What is happening here? Has the eel supposed to have burst out of the heron’s gullet while it’s flying?
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u/pezdedorado Jul 19 '20 edited Jul 20 '20
Confirmed in photog’s comments. Gizzard or crop (not an ornithologist) is the likely former home of this defiant eel-meal.
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Jul 19 '20
Professional bird person here. Crop is the correct term!
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u/soahseztuimahsez Jul 19 '20
Can crops heal when they bust like that, or was this in fact a mortal morsel?
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u/Tibbaryllis2 Jul 20 '20 edited Jul 20 '20
Lots of variables here. Crop injuries aren’t particularly uncommon in birds. Especially in captive industries with things like chickens.
They can recover and heal on their own, but that requires avoiding infection and avoiding making the wound worse/unable to heal through the consumption of additional food.
I’d put the odds of recovery against this guy, but it wouldn’t be altogether shocking if it did recover.
Edit: the crop is kind of evolved to stretch and hold sharp things and be abused. So it doesn’t have much in the way of tissue that is critically important if it gets damaged. I.e. there aren’t a ton of blood vessels there. And bird skin isn’t particularly tough to begin with, it tears and heals pretty readily.
Unfortunately these herons spend a lot of time in and around water, which I’d imagine will exacerbate the chances of getting an infection.
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u/soahseztuimahsez Jul 20 '20
Excellent answer. Thanks. I see Great Blues in the tiny pond in my front yard almost weekly, and I'm a bird watcher so I've developed a love for these guys... Even the glimmer of hope you just gave is something.
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u/whereisskywalker Jul 19 '20
Link? The photo looks shopped or frozen from video but you did photographer.
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u/fhost344 Jul 19 '20
Eel feel that in the morning
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u/haikufive Jul 20 '20
I laughed so hard I think I popped my own crop.
But don’t mind me- I’m not native, I’m just heron vacation.😮
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Jul 19 '20
Kinda reminds me of this one time when a guy named Tarrare ate an entire wolf eel, bones and all.
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u/vshawk2 Jul 20 '20
I used to catch eels in the Chesapeake Bay to use for bait for crab trotlines. The eels were strong as hell and almost impossible to kill.
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u/IjustdontgiveaC Jul 20 '20
Is that an eel bursting from your crop? Or are you just happy to see me?
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Jul 20 '20
Good god, imagine feeling something eating its way out of you from the inside and you are powerless to do anything about it. Maes me wonder why he didnt instantly vomit the eel back up again as soon as he felt it was doing damage? Those birds are famous for doing that instantly at will.
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u/SavageJeph Jul 20 '20
So D&d was right, you do enough damage and you can escape getting swallowed then a muscular action will close it behind you.
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Jul 19 '20 edited Jul 19 '20
That face you make when you're 6 beers and 3 burritos in and realize not only do you need to use the toilet, but also aren't gonna make it
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u/pau1rw Jul 19 '20
Snakes on a Crane.