Johnny Rook Birds, Striated Caracara, Ravage National Geographic Crew's Campsite (VIDEO)

The Striated Caracara isn't known as a Johnny Rook bird for no reason. Also referred to as the Falkland Island's flying devils, these winged troublemakers gave a National Geographic crew more than the ideal footage as they disassembled their tent, stole their food, and even scattered about their toilet paper like a mischievous group of ornery toddlers.

For these birds, the fun doesn't stop with people. Even their new generations are targets for capers, as the adults bombard the young birds to let them know just who is in charge.

WATCH:

Comments

[f8doggie]

09:48 PM on 10/26/2010

Being destructive for the heck of it. How human!

[Rob Roday]

03:00 PM on 10/25/2010

man, talk about getting even for invading their privacy!!

[BlackYowe]

11:05 AM on 10/23/2010

Funny they act human!

[caroline gray]

08:20 AM on 10/23/2010

i know some birds are pretty smart, but these guys are mental haha...

[rougebaisers]

07:57 AM on 10/22/2010

Absolutely fabulous.

[mamacat]

07:36 PM on 10/21/2010

For a long time Lapplanders told anyone interested that the eagles up in the northern part of the Scandinavian archipelago would attack and kill reindeer and even human children. No scientists believed them, until recently a BBC film crew took film footage of an eagle attacking and killing a young reindeer. They cause its lungs to collapse with their huge talons, then come back and consume it after it is dead. In the film shown by BBC, the eagles looked much larger than the johnny rooks shown in this video.
No Southerners have documented an attack on a human child, but the Lapps say it has happened.

I got into a fight with a Red Tailed Hawk over who owned my chickens, and I do not recommend the experience to anyone. (In hindsight, it was not one of my better decisions.) These creatures are beautiful to look at, but are built for inflicting a maximum amount of damage in a short period of time.

[plan-uts]

10:12 AM on 10/22/2010

So who ended up with the chickens?

[mamacat]

07:53 PM on 10/24/2010

Long story. I knew someone or something was taking them, but did not who or what. I went out to feed them, and noticed that they were all hiding in their hen-house. As I came to feed them, one of them came out. The RTH immediately came out of a nearby tree and pinned the chicken with its talons.
Without thinking, I tried to take the chicken away from the RTH. I did not realize that the chicken had already received a fatal injury, as the talons went just about all the way through it. As I was trying to fight for the body of the chicken, the RTH gave me a very dirty look, and grabbed onto one of my forearms with one of its set of talons, holding on to the chicken with the other set. This posed a serious problem for me, as the talons went immediately all the way down to the bone.
With my free arm, I grabbed the RTH around its neck, and squeezed until it went unconscious. I then put it into a strong cage that I used for transporting chickens and other animals when necessary. It quickly woke up and was furious with me.
I called animal control, who were very excited to get the hawk. I suppose it was a welcome change from dealing with cats and dogs. They told me they would take it out into the country, and release into the wild, where it belonged.

[zulubaker]

06:51 PM on 10/23/2010

so who won the discussion; you or the Red Tailed Hawk?

[mamacat]

07:55 PM on 10/24/2010

See above. The RTH got captured and relocated away from people, several chickens were dead, and I had to go to the doctor for repairs to my forearm.

[HighDesertBob]

06:18 PM on 10/21/2010

Are they any good to eat? Barbecued?

[rougebaisers]

08:00 AM on 10/22/2010

Good luck with that. They are obviously not afraid of humans.

[TheFriendlyAtheist]

04:54 PM on 10/21/2010

Damn! I've seen better behavior in half-drunk teenagers. Where the hell are the parents?

[Kevin Atlanta]

01:47 PM on 10/21/2010

Nasty raptors and scavengers. They remind me of the Red Tail Hawks from home.

[chaya]

01:28 PM on 10/21/2010

Interesting: the young of this bird species can stop an attack by an adult by rolling over on its back--just like a wolf or dog.

[mamacat]

07:38 PM on 10/21/2010

How much do you want to bet that that behavior would not work with an animal that the hawk intends to eat?

[zulubaker]

06:53 PM on 10/23/2010

oh, i don't know about that. i think you just might lose that bet.

[lunarsnare]

01:16 PM on 10/21/2010

Birds are so incredibly smart

[TexasDem0]

12:18 PM on 10/21/2010

The scene at the campsite seemed to show well developed intelligence including a tendency for play, especially with the toilet paper, although they didn’t seem to be able to determine its actual purpose.

[BebeLush]

12:07 PM on 10/21/2010

Note to one's self: Keep all small children out of the area when these birds are present.

[rougebaisers]

08:02 AM on 10/22/2010

They will eat your young.

[ChaiKat]

12:00 PM on 10/21/2010

I find this highly amusing.

[Kitten Kramer]

11:37 AM on 10/21/2010

Did you see those birds tear that tent to shreds? WOW and they fight in mid-air1 I just love those birds, they take no s,,t from mankind. LOLOLOLO