Wildbuzz | The hawk who dared the crocs
A study of published records by Australian researchers Ruchira Somaweera, Matthew Brien and Richard Shine established that globally, 184 species of predators were found preying on19 crocodilian taxa
It can be rewarding to not be totally obsessed with tigers. Dentist Rohan Sharma is one such exception. While traversing the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR), Uttar Pradesh, Sharma did not let his childhood passion for birds be overwhelmed by the tiger chase. Chance played a role in his favour and he bagged the first Indian record of crocodile predation or feeding on a dead one by the changeable hawk-eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus limnaeetus).
In Sharma’s narrative, the encounter that led to exceptional photographs and a vigorous interest evinced in them by researchers and raptor enthusiasts: “On a chilly afternoon during the course of my fifth safari at the PTR, I was captivated by the forest’s charm once again, having fallen in love with it during my first visit in June 2024. Despite the frenzy over tiger sightings, I remained focused on bird watching. While traversing the ‘Pakki Patri’ track in Zone II, I spotted a hawk-eagle perched on a fig tree with prey hanging from its talons. Although the driver initially passed it by, I urged him to reverse, allowing us to get a closer look and a few pictures. I initially thought it was a monitor lizard (Goh). Upon reviewing the images back home in Pune, I was stunned to discover that the hawk-eagle’s catch was a Mugger crocodile hatchling. Just 50 m from the fig tree runs a stream through the PTR. The photographic capture underlines the astonishingly unpredictable nature of the wilderness.”
The hawk-eagle cuts rather a noble figure, tending to perch “bolt upright” or spine straight on a bough from where it maintains a piercing look. Adults acquire a startling and rosy orange-yellow hue to their eyes, the feet an alluring lemon-yellow. The Southern race of the hawk-eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus cirrhatus) bears a regal crest, which is erected on being alarmed whereas the Northern race (Nisaetus cirrhatus limnaeetus) has a small, rudimentary crest or nothing at all. The usual hunting style is to pounce upon the prey “with a whirlwind rush, smothering it with its wings, and bearing it away with its powerful talons.” No wonder, native falconers bestowed upon the species the grandiloquent title, Shah Baaz.
The Southern race sports another enigmatical title, Devil Bird! “Sometimes utters weird, nocturnal cries --- a wailing hoo-hoo immediately preceded by a ‘harsh cough’ --- as of a woman being strangled,” is the description rendered by Salim Ali and S Dillon Ripley in their seminal work, “Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan” (Vol. 1).
However, ornithological tomes authored by the pedigree of Ali, Rishad Naoroji et al do not list crocodilian hatchlings as a known prey item for the hawk-eagle. But this powerful raptor, like a typical hunter, is essentially opportunistic and can grab an unknown and “unbelievable” prey species away from the prying eyes and reach of reputed ornithologists. Till such time as the increasing number of roving photographers and bird watchers, like Sharma, chance upon a novel predation and enrich ornithological knowledge with citizen science. Hawk-eagles are otherwise known in ornithology to hunt large prey like the Goh, young peacocks, hares and pheasants.
Complementing the novelty of a bird capturing a croc hatchling is the matter of how is it that these mighty reptiles themselves turn into a prey item? Crocs occupy the apex of the food chain in diverse tropical systems, deploying body armour, size and devastating teeth to slaughter lesser mortals. But croc eggs and hatchlings, as also smaller crocs gobbled by larger crocs, are lesser-known predation items of the natural world. Thus, contrary to popular perception and depictions in visual media, crocs as some kind of Gothic Goliacs can only be assessed as “superficially invulnerable”.
A study of published records by Australian researchers Ruchira Somaweera, Matthew Brien and Richard Shine established that globally, 184 species of predators were found preying on 19 crocodilian taxa. The proverbial Davids feeding on croc eggs/hatchlings included red ants, Solenopsis ants, blue crabs, blackbeam and Saratoga fish, soft-shelled turtles, etc. Published in 2013, the study found that of these 184 predator species, there were 23 bird species (plus Sharma’s hawk-eagle) involved in preying/feeding upon hatchlings of 15 species and sub-species of crocodiles. There is also a record of the brown fish owl feeding on a Mugger hatchling at Ranthambore in May 2024, to make it 25 known avian species as croc predators.
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