Florida deputy saves hawk being strangled by snake after bird's would-be meal tried to 'turn the tables'
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - This hawk may have been a bit too confident in its hunting abilities.
A Florida deputy came across the hawk on a sidewalk in Alachua County as it was being strangled by a snake — which the bird had caught for its meal.
But instead of giving into its fate, the snake fought back, and quickly turned the tables on the hawk.
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Alachua County Sheriff's Deputy Aldous found the reptile wrapping itself tightly around the bird to strangle it in an attempt to keep from being eaten.
Bodycam footage showed the deputy stepping in, carefully grabbing the hawk and unwrapping the snake from around the bird's body. All the while, the deputy could be heard saying, "Don't bite me, buddy" as he worked to free the hawk from the snake's firm grip.
It took about a minute to set it free, and the stunned hawk could then be seen looking back at the deputy.
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"Don't bite me, buddy, you're good!" he again told the bird, which apparently needed a moment to recover from the traumatic incident.
Aldous then called in the incident to dispatch.
"You're never going to believe this, but the bird was trying to eat a snake, and the snake had strangled it," he said. "But I got it loose, and the bird's good and the snake's good."
A dispatcher simply replied, "10-4."
Then another person chimed in, "Unless you got it on video, it didn't happen."
"Oh, it's on video!" Aldous radioed back.