{"id":281647,"date":"2025-11-25T01:51:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T01:51:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/281647\/"},"modified":"2025-11-25T01:51:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T01:51:13","slug":"brutal-moment-between-two-rare-aussie-animals-photographed-after-sixth-sense-moment-in-bush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/281647\/","title":{"rendered":"Brutal moment between two rare Aussie animals photographed after ‘sixth sense’ moment in bush"},"content":{"rendered":"

Walking up a hill blanketed in thick bushland on Thursday, a Victorian<\/a> grandmother could feel something watching her. \u201cThere was no noise or anything, it was just that sixth sense thing,\u201d she told Yahoo News.<\/p>\n

Scanning the forest, she was excited to discover a 50cm-high predatory owl staring back at her from a low-hanging branch.<\/p>\n

She immediately focused her camera on the bird, without yet comprehending the rarity of what she was photographing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just staring back at me, probably thinking, ‘What the hell are you looking at’?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat went through my mind was, ‘Get a photo really quickly before it takes off’.\u201d<\/p>\n

What she had witnessed was a powerful owl,<\/a> a species vulnerable to extinction in Victoria, eating what appears to be the corpse of a greater glider<\/a>, which is listed as nationally endangered.<\/p>\n

The woman, who has lived on the property for decades, had no idea either species lived in the forest, although she had sometimes heard owls calling.<\/p>\n

\"Left:<\/p>\n

When the photographer returned, only parts of the corpse remained. Source: Supplied<\/p>\n

“I’d never seen anything like it before… It had eaten its head off,” she said.<\/p>\n

Because of the moment’s rarity, she has asked not to be named, and the exact location of her property is not disclosed.<\/p>\n

However, Yahoo News is permitted to reveal it occurred in Gladysdale in the Yarra Valley, around 70km east of Melbourne.<\/p>\n

Why expert is conflicted by owl and glider image<\/p>\n

When Birdlife Australia\u2019s<\/a> powerful owl expert Dr Holly Parsons<\/a>, saw the images for the first time on Monday, she was amazed, but also conflicted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really exciting when you see a powerful owl, but when its prey is a threatened species as well it can be really hard to look at,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that\u2019s what you want to see, that natural predator and prey relationship, so it\u2019s potentially a good thing, you could say.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related: Tense moment ‘survivors’ of ancient Aussie species released<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Greater gliders create their dens inside tree hollows. Source: The Greater Glider Project<\/p>\n

Greater gliders can weigh up to 1.7kg and grow up to 1 metre in length, including their tail, meaning they\u2019re at the upper limit of powerful owl prey.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s more common to see them eating other tree-dwelling species, including ringtail and brushtail possums, birds, flying foxes, or even koala joeys.<\/p>\n

The main reason it\u2019s rare to see one eating a greater glider is simply that there aren\u2019t many left, primarily due to bushfires, but also state governments and developers bulldozing their homes.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThere should be enough greater gliders out there to be prey for powerful owls, both for their own right, but also as a food item that helps support the whole ecosystem,\u201d Dr Parsons said.<\/p>\n

Key reason both species are so rare<\/p>\n

Victoria was once home to the world\u2019s oldest tree, but this 114.3 metre-high mountain ash, known as the Cornthwaite Tree, was felled in 1884.<\/p>\n

Today, very little of the forest that towered above the state prior to European settlement remains \u2013 for instance, less than 2 per cent of the state\u2019s old-growth mountain ash forest is left.<\/p>\n

\"Left:<\/p>\n

Powerful owls need large hollows to raise their chicks. Source: Getty<\/p>\n

Both greater gliders and powerful owls raise their young inside tree hollows which are now increasingly rare, and only start to form inside trunks that are a century old.<\/p>\n

\u201cPowerful owls need very large trees with a nice, deep hollow, and once those are gone from the landscape, you\u2019re removing an entire territory, because there\u2019s no way for birds to breed,\u201d Parsons said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is also increasing fire that takes out trees, and you have issues of rodenticides,<\/a> and car strikes, and all the other human-induced risks we throw their way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Love Australia’s weird and wonderful environment? \ud83d\udc0a\ud83e\udd98\ud83d\ude33 Get our new newsletter<\/a> showcasing the week\u2019s best stories.<\/p>\n

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