A Brief Battle Between Predator and Prey
I was ten minutes into my jog and had just reached Roanoke park, a square-block long island of grass and a dozen trees. A basketball hoop and a playground sat at the far end. Dusk hadn’t yet dimmed the sky and traffic was just beginning to snarl the streets. On the bench near the playground’s sandbox sat a frumpy man who middle age was hitting hard. Beside him sat his terrier/whippet mix. Its short white fur stretched over bones and sinew, ending in a narrow snout of sharp teeth.
In an instant the dog sprang from its rest. Its paws sent blades of grass flying as it sprinted towards me. This is usual for me. Dogs can sense a sucker who’s all too ready to pet them a mile away. I got ready to deliver some ear scratches.
In front of me, a squirrel was running from tree to tree. As the dog picked up speed, both the squirrel and I realized at the same time what was actually happening. The squirrel made some panicked jukes as instinct kicked in, hoping to dodge the predator barreling towards it and flee to safety. The dog was layered in, never breaking stride as it drove jaws first into its prey. The squirrel got a couple of death squeaks out before it was shaken out of its misery.
I froze in place. The dog trotted back to its owner with its prize in its jaws. The owner didn’t appear to feel one way or the other about it as the dog resumed his place beside the bench.
The only other witness to this was a thin, gray haired man passing me who’d also beheld this scene.
“Holy shit,” I turned to him in surprise and awe. “I’ve never seen a dog take down a squirrel that quick.”
Or at all, I’d later realize. I’d seen a lot of boistrous chasing, but this was the first time in memory the coyote had caught the roadrunner.
“Bad training,” the man replied with a disdainful shake of his head. He glared at the owner, then continued his walk.
I jogged on, feeling that he’d missed the point.
We’d just watched nature happen in all its fast drama. A predator loosed to test his reactions and instincts against his prey’s. The same scene would have played out if this grassy patch wasn’t surrounded by concrete, cars, and homes.
I texted my friend about it later. He’d never witnessed anything like that either.
We were both happy to learn that the city was still wild.
