Alachua County deputy stops a fight between a hawk and a snake

A fierce melee between a hawk and a snake spilled out from the Florida woods and onto a sidewalk near a busy road recently, and the primordial struggle was captured on a police officer’s bodycam.

On Monday, Deputy Nick Aldous of Alachua County was sent to investigate something strange: a hawk flopping around on the side of a busy road.

When he pulled up, he found the raptor struggling on the sidewalk. As he approached, he was surprised to see that it was locked in battle with a long black snake. The snake had entwined itself around the bird’s wings and torso, and the bird couldn’t seem to free itself.

Aldous’ bodycam footage revealed that he quickly tossed a couple tattered old towels over the combatants to stop them from writhing around.

As traffic rushes by, he gingerly pried the snake’s knotted body from around the hawk’s wings and torso.

It was no easy task. The snake seems determined to remain wrapped around the bird. The front third of the serpent’s body was free, and it could have easily struck the officer, but didn’t.

The hawk, a bit larger than a crow, appeared to be a red-shouldered hawk. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s website, their diet consists of small mammals, lizards, snakes and amphibians. The snake was slender and black, and could have been a nonvenomous North American black racer.

Eventually Aldous loosened the main wrap of the snake — good news, but now the hawk could more easily reach him with a beak it normally used to rip open prey. “Don’t bite me. Don’t bite me,” he said as he continued to work the snake loose.

Once the snake was unwrapped, it slithered off into the leaf cover and underbrush, and disappeared almost magically. The hawk remained on the ground, flashing its wings as if it wanted to fight the officer.

“Don’t bite me, buddy. You’re good. You’re good,” said Aldous, then he took a deep breath. “Holy cow!” he said to the dispatcher on the radio. “You’re never gonna believe this, but the bird was trying to eat a snake, and the snake had strangled it. But I got it loose and the bird’s good and the snake’s good.”

Sgt. Kevin Davis, who’d been listening in on the Wild Kingdom-esque call, couldn’t resist. “Unless you get it on video, it didn’t happen,” he said.

“Oh it’s on video,” Aldous said.