Great Horned Owl Defends Prey from Sneaky Mink!🦉Mississippi Flyway | explore.org 10-6-26

An incredible midnight showdown on the Mississippi River Flyway! Watch as a Great Horned Owl brings prey (American Coot) to the log, only for a bold American Mink to sneak in and try to scavenge the prize. Stick around for the 9:36 mark to see the exact moment the owl flies back in to give the intruder "the boot," followed by a slow-motion replay! 🦉💥 💡Did you Know❓ The American Mink is a very bold, semi-aquatic predator known to aggressively hunt animals much larger than itself. However, when it comes to scavenging, they are ultimate opportunists! While minks will gladly try to swipe leftovers from a Great Horned Owl, they have to be incredibly careful—Great Horned Owls are actually one of the very few natural predators capable of hunting and eating minks! 📌 Timestamp Highlights: • 0:00 - Great Horned Owl flies to the log with prey 👀 • 0:19 - Fabulous close-up of the Owl and its catch • 2:37 - Owl moves the prey; legs and feet are visible • 3:14 - Owl moves down the log as the cam op zooms in • 4:29 - White undertail feathers reveal an American Coot 😔 • 5:12 - Owl moves to the root end, leaving the prey • 6:31 - Owl returns after a brief exit to feed • 8:29 - Owl adjusts and moves further down the log • 9:01 - Owl flies off, leaving the prey; a Mink arrives to investigate! • 9:36 - BOOM! Owl swoops in and knocks the mink off the log! • 9:45 - SLOW-MO REPLAY: Owl tags the mink into the grass • 9:58 - Owl leaves with its prey this time! • 10:02 - Persistent Mink returns to hunt for leftover scraps • 11:31 - Mink pops out from under the log and darts off • 11:41 - Mink makes one more appearance from the grass • 11:54 - Cam op tries to zoom, but the mink is on a mission! (Note: The owl actually returned to scout before the mink came back again, but the video was edited for time.) A big thank you to the dedicated volunteer camera operators at explore.org for this spectacular footage and incredible close-ups of this intense midnight interaction! 🦉 🌿 ABOUT THIS CAMERA: Located in the Upper Mississippi National Fish and Wildlife Refuge on Lake Onalaska, this live Flyway Cam offers a front-row seat to the massive bird migrations. In partnership with the Raptor Resource Project and explore.org, this camera documents a spectacular variety of river wildlife, from Bald Eagles and American White Pelicans to Sandhill Cranes and Tundra Swans. 👉 LIVE Mississippi River Flyway Cam: Bird Migration & Bald Eagles | explore.org https://www.youtube.com/live/feR0k8-n... 📍 LOCATION: Upper Mississippi National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, Lake Onalaska, Wisconsin. #GreatHornedOwl #AmericanMink #OwlVsMink #MississippiFlyway #ExploreOrg #RaptorResourceProject #WildlifeShowdown #AmericanCoot #BirdWatching #NightCam Drama