This happened at the Wide World of Citrus in Clermont, Florida.
Snaking in between endless dusty rows of tangerines & grapefruits, there's a drainage ditch. A tall blue gray heron is stalking purposefully, and we are idly not looking at anything much, when it suddenly seizes (and staggers up the bank with) a gigantic catfish... he manages to keep a grip on it for a few seconds, and then the cat slaps itself loose to the ground. The heron regards this macho bit of work, seems to realize, "I don't have any way of fitting this thing down my throat... but I suppose I'll give it a shot..."
A couple tentative stabs later makes it clear that the catfish isn't getting smaller or more tractable. The heron makes an uncomfortable trip back to the ditch. It washes out its beak (that catfish is a slimy bit of business), stands on one foot, the other foot-- wades slowly away--
We make our way over the catfish. It's still alive, there in the grass.
Should we eat it?
It's already had a bit of luck, it was too big and slippery for that bird.
Too much of a mouthful.
I put the catfish back in the ditch.
That whole situation was a lot like the entire state of Florida.
No comments:
Post a Comment