Cats, Eagle and Fox Chill on Porch

03/27/2012

Several of my colleagues here at National Wildlife Federation have forwarded this video that shows two domestic cats, a bald eagle and a red fox apparently hanging out in harmony on the front porch of a house in Alaska.

The woman who took the video of these odd animal companions writes:

"See how the fox, eagle and cat are all just fine hanging out and no one is trying to attack anyone and they are getting along just fine? Notice the eagle in the background on the lamp post down by the street. That is the partner to this eagle. They aren't always out to attack and kill each other. Our fox and eagles and cats basically get along just fine here. Sometimes if there is food they might fight over the food some."

It's pretty amazing, don't you think?  I wrote a post a few weeks ago about a cat and a rat sharing a bowl of milk, and theorized that a full belly can often override predatory instincts.  I wonder if that's what's going on here. Red foxes and domestic cats are pretty well-matched and neither would prey on the other, but a bold bald eagle would certainly be able to take a cat if it so chose (although normally they feed on fish, waterfowl and carrion). 

Of course some people are claiming the video is a fake.  It looks pretty convincing to me.  What do you think?

Comments

[lexi]

the way the camera is skewed in certain spots of the video makes me think its not real. A camera wouldnt do that, some type of editing was put in for that to happen, most likely in order to distract the viewers from patch work

[Jennifer]

Why does nothing eat a road kill cat, probably same theory goes on here. There is something just foul about them.

[Tc]

Clever editing....there is a lens shift each time the camera pans to another animal...probably to hide splicing.

[Jefferson]

i think this is real, the shooting is a little strange, but i think this is normal, but i liked this video.

[Keri M]

I don't know, I know nothing about video cameras that way, but it DOES look weird somehow when she turns back and forth, like it's hard to look at or you get this weird sense that YOU suddenly can't see straight or something, it's odd. Otherwise, I'd say she probably feeds them like an idiot and no wonder they're on her porch, both fox and eagle look RATHER expectant, I thought.

[Ashley]

The camera could just be acting funny because it was snowing at it was too cold for the camera but it is a little weird how the camera was acting but I do think it's real.

[tim]

She has obviously been feeding them all. There is a real problem with that if they are not domestic and her "pets." Also, note the nail sticking out of the board sitting there. She is smoking too much of the stuff she is growing in her basement.....

[Natasha aka Tosh]

the camera picture gets wavy depending on when the next animal will be shown. her voice is also clear thought its windy out side. i think its fake.

[Juli]

I don't think it's fake, the account has 20+ of videos of the same porch in different angles with other eagles and the same cats! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdJqzVQEgIQ

[Laura]

TOTALLY FAKE! Everytime the camera pans to another animal, the screen flexes. Cameras don't do that and if you notice, at no time do you see all three predators in the same shot as each other. Totally fake.

[Matheus Cardoso]

Hoje em dia somos obrigados a aturar crueldades humanas , o planeta vai explodir estes humanos que fazem isto !

[Arwen]

For the people saying the animals are never in the same frame: The cat and the eagle are in the same frame at the beginning (right when she opens the door) and the eagle and the fox are in the same frame towards the end (when she scans from the eagle to the fox). The warping is probably just from a cheap camera in the cold. My camera does it in very cold places...

[Otto]

Hello. This shot is real. Every ethologist can tell that the fox is watching the eagle, the cat, and the lady who filmed. It's obvious. It's normal, it is a real footage, with animals and man, in harmony. Congratulation. ^_^

[Jo]

This is NOT FAKE people..
You can visit her You tube channel and see it for yourself ..There are more videos uploaded featuring the eagles, cats & fox :-)

[Patsy]

I think It is AMazing.>An yes the belly hunger overides attack mode in some cases. This IS just unusual to see 3 wild animals with domestic animals, an if they are hungry why not get the domestics? I assume they have learned they are getting free food hand outs, an think it easier to find an recieve... So why hunt? an winter perhaps makes it harder to find food scavenging.

[Corey]

Good camera job! but FAKE!!!!

[Velvitymaru]

I want a fox bad! Beside the point, This seems real but looks like some editing was done. I', so jellious that fox was so close :D

[tiffany l o fekthoff]

Um yeah I've seen several camras do that esp I. The cold I agree she is likely feeding them

[Lasko]

This is Fake.. You can tell at the beginning of the video, when the camera moves towards the eagle. Good editing but noticeable.

[katrina]

real or not thats one adorable fox

[Lisa]

While I know for a fact that various wild animals can become unexpected friends (I had a feral cat and a crow that slept together in my back yard every night and ate kibble from the same food bowl) the camera skewing in this video is ONLY happening right before each shift from one animal to another. I'd love to believe it's real, but it is clearly edited.

[Sondra]

I don't think this is real...it seems at certain parts...especially with the eagle, that the background appears to float around a little. I will say that the editing was good....but not good enough to fool everyone.

[Erin]

This is real. I know this woman, and where this is. It's in Dutch Harbor, AK. Things like this happen all the time there. I lived there for five years and witnessed my cats playing with foxes, eagles eating from dumpsters, and many other things people in the lower 48 would think are strange.

[Erin]

OH, and the skewing is because of lack of focus on a poor quality camera as it changes distance between the camera and the subject, anyone with basic video production knowledge would be able to spot that immediately.

[Jayme]

I love this video. Is it so beautiful. I believe it is real