Shocking footage shows the tragic moment a family’s pet bunny gets swooped on by a hawk and carried off into the air.
Mother Nature is a cruel mistress. We all know that and learned the lesson of the Circle of Life the hard way watching The Lion King as kids.
The video, shared to YouTube by the user going by Joey Gore, is a little less Planet Earth II, a little more animal kingdom Goodfellas.
The footage, which should really be narrated by David Attenborough himself, shows the moment Joey’s family celebrate their new pet bunny’s homecoming, letting the rabbit free for a small romp on the grass in their yard.
However, the romp is tragically short-lived.
Joey has confirmed the video is in no way edited and was simply filmed on his camera phone – a Motorola Droid Rzr Maxx HD for anyone asking.
Joey jokingly titled the video ‘Bunnies can fly…proof’ and further wrote on YouTube:
This was not setup in any way shape or form.
The mommy bunny can be seen in the video just below the neighbour’s mailbox/driveway lying in the grass. Kermit did not run towards the bigger bunny.
The title is misleading and was the first thing I thought of when I uploaded. The laughter at the end of the video was shock and the dis belief of what we captured on film.
The family said they had no idea the video would prove to be so popular, having been watched by thousands.
The parents of the little girl in the video later had a chat with her and found a nice, euphemistic way to explain what had happened.
Joey said:
We explained to our daughter that the bunny went for a ride and was returned to its mother. She is only 4 and knows no different.
My wife was devastated and immediately began crying. I had to stop filming and comfort her for a bit.
Here is the unfortunate incident captured on film:
Hawks are at the top of their food chain and at the centre of their food web, so they don’t have many predators. The only natural enemies that hawks must worry about are eagles and larger hawks.
With the ability to fly at eye-watering speeds, hawks will usually eye their prey from above when circling. They have amazing vision an can even spot a mouse from that high up.
Once they find their prey, they will roost on a branch or a telephone pole and watch the prey. Once the hawk believes that it has a good opportunity, it swoops to the prey.
Different hawks use different hunting tactics – depending on the their habitat and prey that is available – just like this little pet bunny.
The poor thing really didn’t have a chance.
Just like these guys, who fell victim to other brutal animal attacks:
This is worse than seeing the alpha giraffes fight each other using their strong necks on Planet Earth. No amount of soothing commentary from our favourite naturalist can mend our broken hearts.
After the trauma, surely you’re going to need a little animal-related pep talk.
Here’s a compilation of some cute pets:
You’re welcome. Let’s hope the pet bunny found a more peaceful resting place up in the great big farm in the sky.
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A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.