Canon EOS 5D
ƒ/6.3
400 mm
1/400
640

The verge of consumption… nestled in the seaside bluffs of Half Moon Bay, CA. 

I almost fell off my chair when I saw the simultaneous expression of predator and prey….(best viewed large)

The FlickrBlog wrote, with a bit of alarmism:

“Flickr user jurvetson has captured an amazing fraction of a second in the interaction between prey and bird of prey. Warning: this photo is NOT for viewers who would be disturbed by images of small cute things meeting their end – it is really quite gruesome. If that sounds like you, don’t click.” 

(repost after accidental deletion… 148 wonderful comments and 308 faves are lost… sorry)

83 responses to “Last Thoughts”

  1. Todd Huffman Avatar
    Todd Huffman

    First Post!
    (sort of)

    Reply
  2. Todd Huffman Avatar
    Todd Huffman

    There is a partial cache on the Goog… if you haven’t grabbed it already…
    209.85.135.104/search?q=cache:0DLxrGiI_SkJ:www.flickr.com…

    Reply
  3. Chris Anderson Photos Avatar
    Chris Anderson Photos

    It’s just as amazing the second time around.

    Reply
  4. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Todd – awesome. I had forgotten about that. Thanks. It’s great to have the old comments. I was able to grab some of the replies I wrote to earlier questions:

    The hawk took two swoops down before making the catch. This Morning's Hunt
    After the first miss, I discovered an entire family of quail that were remaining totally silent (to me at least) right next to me. After the catch, the hawk landed on a precipice along the jagged bluffs. I was able to watch the whole meal from the other side of a steep gully. So I was close, but safely separated by a chasm. Amazingly, after the meal, the hawk flew over the chasm and landed just a few feet away. She stared at her observer for a while before flying off. It was a magic moment.
    —
    No Photoshop or image processing of any kind. Just a crop from the original. Except for HDR merges, I don’t use Photoshop with any of my photos.
    —
    I got an email from a field biologist… It’s a juvenile red-tailed hawk dining on a California meadow vole (Microtis californicus).
    —
    Voles sure are interesting… Prairie voles are rare among mice for their "faithful marriages" (pair bonding, mongamy, and joint rasing of the young). Other voles and mice exhibit none of those traits. Tom Insel has done some fascinating experiments to genetically regulate the number of oxytocin and vasopressin receptors (which link to the D2 dopamine receptors associated with drug addiction) in the vole brain. Mating causes a release of both hormones, but the right receptors have to be in the brain for the pair-bonding to follow.

    In short, Tom was able to switch monogamy on and off. Monogamy may boil down to the length of a DNA sequence in a promoter switch at the front of a particular receptor gene.
    —
    After much discussion, wikipedia made it a "featured picture", which means that members of the community have identified it as one of the finest images on the English Wikipedia." =)

    Reply
  5. !MimosaMicheMichelle! Avatar
    !MimosaMicheMichelle!

    Oh no! I had written a long text about how this is not more gruesome than anyone eating at the table! Too bad for you and all of us Steve.

    Still a great photo!!!!

    How did this happen and are other photos lost?

    Reply
  6. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    No just this photo. It was a freak occurrence. I was removing the photo from some Groups (as an old photo, it was in more than the current maximum)… and then poof… it was gone. Flickr folks were very helpful in preserving the URL though, so all of the outside links (from Wikipedia, etc.) should still work.

    Reply
  7. !MimosaMicheMichelle! Avatar
    !MimosaMicheMichelle!

    I bet the whole think is somewhere and could be retrieved if you asked. It is an important photo with interesting comments and it would be worth it.

    Reply
  8. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Yeah…. in the Google archive (for now) and in the backup tapes at flickr. But they would have to take the site down to roll that back. Bottom line: Deleting is very permanent here.

    Reply
  9. !MimosaMicheMichelle! Avatar
    !MimosaMicheMichelle!

    I am planning since over a year to copy all my important comments in a document. I have some since over 22 months. I should have done that with what I wrote here.

    Reply
  10. !MimosaMicheMichelle! Avatar
    !MimosaMicheMichelle!

    My original comment (you cannot get the second page in Google but I at least found my first one, the one I care about that I find important here.) Thanks Steve for reminding me.

    10 months ago

    Fantastic capture!!!

    Disturbing. One can imagine being that prey!

    Yet, consider this:

    If the hawk were at home or in a restaurant, sitting at a beautifully set dining table, fork and knife in hand and had a perfectly cooked vole covered with a red wine sauce on a plate with a piece of the meat in his mouth, would we react the same way?

    To be truly disturbed, I must first evaluate the eating habits of all of earth’s living creatures, including human beings. In the end, I see little basic difference. We all eat to survive. Some are carnivores, some are vegetarians, some can be both. Intelligent human beings have this choice. Even if people cook meats, they still eat most of the parts of another creature on the food chain. Does cooking, flavouring, seasoning and combining various ingredients make the consumption of an animal less gross? We eat guilt-free because no one else can judge us. If more evolved beings from another world were to see how we feed ourselves, they might find our eating habits extremely disgusting and disturbing. It is all a matter of perspective and intelligence.

    Reply
  11. nels1 Avatar
    nels1

    that’s a major bummer steve:(

    i think my comment just re-iterated what an amazing shot this was. and just for hyperlinking goodness, here’s the link to also show that you won the theme photo of the week for "The Detail" in the Scientist Photographers’ group:)

    Reply
  12. angry shock Avatar
    angry shock

    wow… very sorry to know about this. On a funny note: you are getting closer to the Flickr man himself (however, I do hope you never reach his score)

    Remember when Stewart deleted his entire album? Talk about permanent deletion…!!! HE himself couldn´t undo it.

    Reply
  13. The Rocketeer Avatar
    The Rocketeer

    Steve…. I’ll re-fave it to help you get it back into the Explore pages….

    Reply
  14. padu_merloti Avatar
    padu_merloti

    I wasn’t one of your original faves, but it deserves a fresh new one! Congrats for the very well taken photo.

    Reply
  15. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Thanks y’all. You rock.

    Reply
  16. Josh Thompson Avatar
    Josh Thompson

    When you posted this yesterday, I was wondering how you got the O(200 x10^6) URL. You got Flickr to intervene…nice of them. Did they really say that they had the old comments on tape somewhere? You would think that for such a "notable" Flickerite they could at least copy them all into an email for you.

    Reply
  17. Abizeleth Avatar
    Abizeleth

    Wonderful capture! I saw this the first time around and it’s still astounding!

    NaturesFinestNaturesFinest
    Please add this great photo to Natures Finest
    Tag your photo with "NaturesFinest"

    >>>seen on
    1-2-3 group

    Reply
  18. Gypsy Flores Photography Avatar
    Gypsy Flores Photography

    Please do not post a photo to Spectacular Animals until it is invited. Each photo must be individually invited to the group. Photos without the invitation will be deleted from the Group.
    In the Discussions on the Group’s Main Page , there is a possibility where you can post a photo that you think deserves to be included in the group and members can invite them.
    ———
    However, in this exceptional case, I think that this image would be a wonderful addition, so I have inserted the proper invitation.

    I really like your animal photo!
    You are invited to post this photo to Spectacular Animals, invite only
    http://www.flickr.com/groups/spectacular_animals/
    Please add the tag SpecAnimal to your photo

    I am assuming the original invite was lost in the deletion.

    Reply
  19. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Yes, it was invited. It is weird in the case of a reposting like this.

    Reply
  20. Little Lisa's Avatar
    Little Lisa’s

    Fantastic capture.
    A+++ Grade Photo

    Reply
  21. jybikerboy Avatar
    jybikerboy

    (ACTION NOW) Great shot. 400mm must be nice. Crazy timing on your pic.

    Reply
  22. melcir.meri Avatar
    melcir.meri

    Amazing shot, much admired by Melcir.meri, "FIRST – THE EARTH!" Group Admin [Haggis’s "Merlin with Woodpecker" reminded me of this pic – in our 2007 Photo Competition!!! — http://www.flickr.com/photos/haggis/928033673/in/photostream/ !!]

    A1-App-FTE-455531011_7dfad6f375_m

    — Since TIME’S RUSHING ON, let’s stop just paying LIP-SERVICE to LIFE! ~ Volunteer!!! Make a strong personal commitment to our planet and the future!!! ** Here’s our 2007-8 life-changing challenge! — Become an active realtime or online VOLUNTEER, for – "FIRST – THE EARTH!" Photo-ART EXHIBITION & Optional Competition group. ** First, join us. Then add comments/ +give our AWARDS to other images, plus find and AWARD great shots with invites — to help raise awareness of The State of the Planet, and of Preserving our Heritage & our Future! Choose a Volunteer tasks to suit your time and needs.
    ** MEMBERS ~ IMPORTANT! [JOIN, TO READ+REPLY] – See: http://www.flickr.com/groups/first-the-earth/discuss/72157600556... ESSENTIAL note !!! ** – Mel [Group Admin – "FIRST – THE EARTH!"]

    Reply
  23. Franc Le Blanc . Avatar
    Franc Le Blanc .

    A1-App-FTE-455531011_7dfad6f375_m

    A great image, much admired by
    — enter your own name here –,
    a "FIRST – THE EARTH!" member
    You are invited to add it to our group pool!
    http://www.flickr.com/groups/first-the-earth/

    Reply
  24. Greg Adams Photography Avatar
    Greg Adams Photography

    This was originally nominated for the Scientist Photographers Group Competition months ago – before it was deleted. So it deserves to remain in the group

    Reply
  25. Greg Adams Photography Avatar
    Greg Adams Photography

    BTW – loved it back then and I STILL think that it is an AMAZING photo!

    Reply
  26. ShawnXian Avatar
    ShawnXian

    It is obviously an amazing image. Incredible timing and shot so well. But an interesting thing to me is the high number of views compared to the relatively low number of faves. (Yes, I realize this is a re-post.) That said, I find myself reluctant to fave this! Interesting indeed. And, in the final action, faved after all.

    Congratulations on your excellent work and the well deserved recognition.

    Reply
  27. remarkable muscle Avatar
    remarkable muscle

    How gruesome. I love it. =)

    Reply
  28. Donna62 Avatar
    Donna62

    A1-App-FTE-455531011_7dfad6f375_m

    A great image, much admired by Donna62 –,
    a "FIRST – THE EARTH!" moderator – http://www.flickr.com/groups/first-the-earth/

    Reply
  29. DanBrady Avatar
    DanBrady

    Heads up! Amazing shot, congrats on the magazine – I hope you were paid well 😉

    Reply
  30. Alvaro Herreras Avatar
    Alvaro Herreras

    I have seen this shot in wikipedia… cool

    Reply
  31. Providence Raptors Avatar
    Providence Raptors

    wow, I thought my photo was vicious… but I think you’ve trumped me!

    Reply
  32. restlessthought Avatar
    restlessthought

    (shivers)……. really an amazing photo.
    In my hikes I have watched dozens of raptors tear the sinews of prey, but never have I seen such an iconic image.

    Reply
  33. overthemoon Avatar
    overthemoon

    truly fantastic shot. Did the little vole scream?
    (found it by clicking on the hawk that’s in a thread in TWTME)

    Reply
  34. almossawi Avatar
    almossawi

    An absolutely stunning shot, love it.

    Reply
  35. ComputerHotline Avatar
    ComputerHotline

    Thanks for licensing this image as CC "by" !
    Your photo is uploaded here :
    commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Hawk_eating_prey.jpg
    under the terms of the Creative Commons "by" license.

    Reply
  36. nels1 Avatar
    nels1

    i finally got around to putting up my scientist photographers flickr group calendar on my wall yesterday and this photo is featured for the month of Feb, so i’m sure i’ll be getting a lot of comments from friends!

    for anyone that’s interested in supporting our calendar (all profits are donated to Medecins Sans Frontieres / Doctors without Borders), you can purchase one here 🙂

    Reply
  37. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Awesome…. I had forgotten about that. Just ordered one now. Thanks.

    Reply
  38. nels1 Avatar
    nels1

    excellent:)

    Reply
  39. steady amount Avatar
    steady amount

    Wow…This is a truly phenomenal capture!

    Reply
  40. Jill @ marvin4pet Avatar
    Jill @ marvin4pet

    Saw this on the "favourite animal shots" stream and had to stop by to say what a stunning capture.

    Reply
  41. parched pet Avatar
    parched pet

    I think the rat is still looking at me, excellent capture. 🙂

    Reply
  42. avlxyz Avatar
    avlxyz

    wow… great photo if a bit gruesome!

    Reply
  43. TroyWorks Avatar
    TroyWorks

    This could be a new olympic sport, synchronized prey eating.,. notice this contestant has the toes pointed as well. Leading our judge panel to aware it a 9.3, 9.1, a 9.3, and a 6…from the judge who thought this was a PETA sponsored event.

    Reply
  44. Oleksandr Bondar Avatar
    Oleksandr Bondar

    Excellent moment. Live and dead.

    Reply
  45. marthinotf Avatar
    marthinotf

    Momento cumbre … la alimentación !!! Preciosa foto que vi en el grupo. Flickr Faves.

    La bajo a mis favoritas y te señalo como contacto amigo.

    Saludos cordiales

    Reply
  46. RoundboyzPhotography Avatar
    RoundboyzPhotography

    truly a once in a lifetime catch!

    Reply
  47. shanda.w Avatar
    shanda.w

    wow – this belongs on national geographic!

    Reply
  48. bite-sized horses Avatar
    bite-sized horses

    Congrats! This photo won 2ND PLACE in the COMMENTED WITH WOW Contest in Winner’s Circle – 5 Contests At All Times!

    —
    Seen in a discussion of Winner’s Circle – 5 New Contests – rich66 Icon Winner. (?)

    Reply
  49. frogofpeace Avatar
    frogofpeace

    one in a million!

    Reply
  50. amataiclaudius Avatar
    amataiclaudius

    Excellent capture……viewed large it is quite unique

    Reply

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