The Great Blue Heron: A Gopher's Nightmare

A few of my favorite shots of great blue herons hunting gophers in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park and Presidio. They do this mostly in the spring when they have chicks to feed. If you ever see a heron standing in the grass, take a few minutes to watch it patiently from a distance. It's well worth the wait when they finally catch one. My understanding is they listen and feel for vibrations and then home in on the gopher until they get a visual before going in for the kill.

[@tomwebb3081]

As a photographer I've spent a lot of time watching herons hunt, and eat. The more I watch them the more I'm grateful that we're too big for them to swallow.

[@fast1nakus]

Some 60mil. years ago our ancestors were as big as the gophers.

[@pakde8002]

No shit! That's nightmare material

[@DB-rc9ln]

Ugly Cactus Lol no.

[@fast1nakus]

@@DB-rc9ln lol yes

[@BlackAceDeathRose]

do they swallow the gophers alive or do they some how dispatch them before consuming them? because i could easily see them either dropping them from great heights, or just lancing them with their bill, but cant imagine them swallowing a live gopher without major issues.

[@LoneWulff829]

I could gopher a snack myself.

[@Lee-sd1vx]

maybe gopher two snacks?

[@recon9223]

Or you could gopher 3

[@saturatedcranium]

gopher 4, anyone?

[@daroxstebern4514]

@@saturatedcranium may be gopher 5

[@josemanriquez4875]

Maybe order a 6 pc?

[@mtownz6215]

If it weren't for Heron's, Golden Gate Park will be over populated by gophers. They're digging up holes all over the park.

[@owenpierson5881]

Natural fishermen too keeping bait fish in check here in Michigan

[@michaelleonetti8564]

I've got a chipmunk problem on the east coast send them here

[@owenpierson5881]

Michael Leonetti lol

[@maximillionroivas3893]

Do heron's hunt/eat cats? My alley is full of strays that needs to be taken care of ASAP....

[@edgebucketdraws3854]

@@maximillionroivas3893 no, fortunately cats are too big. just call animal control

[@user-dd3mz3qy1v]

*I Will Never Forget Those Eyes*

[@spencer82rocks]

Animals don’t blink like us specially when hunting can you imagine your lock on target then blink,and in their turf,killed or be killed every day not like “ oh I feel hungry let’s drive to mc Donald’s for some fries 🍟 “ we are the most spoiled 😣😣😣🤪

[@urbancyber3603]

@@spencer82rocks nope just the top dogs of the animal food chain we have the power to remove anything fro. This planet entirely if we choose to

[@Riddem79]

Lol

[@jamesw5665]

Those eyes really do remind me of a velociraptor or something like that.

[@fgcp2964]

@@urbancyber3603 tell that to a canetoad.

[@pstuddy]

Poor gophers, they're still living in a Jurassic world

[@Lymbe06]

Underrated.

[@patricknelson]

Birds _are_ dinosaurs after all, so it makes sense!

[@Exodus20.7KJV]

@@patricknelson Birds are birds, not dinos. Two separate kinds of animals. You've been duped!

[@CJCroen1393]

@Patrick Nelson Herons are so interesting because while they, like all birds, are dinosaurs, their hunting method more closely resembles that of the azhdarchid pterosaurs than anything else. Likely the dinosaur lineage refilling the empty niche their dearly departed cousins left behind.

[@scottevens6274]

I'd hear the gophers screaming in the morning during the herons breakfast time in the south SF bay. Nature is awesome!

[@luciddreamz1446]

Seeing this truly does make me believe Dinosaur evolved in to certain birds

[@jamesobrian1643]

It is cool

[@michaelmcdonald1627]

Yes, yes, Clarice, I bet you can still hear the crying of those little gophers you couldn't save. Can you?

[@scottevens6274]

@@michaelmcdonald1627 Nope. Team heron all the way!

[@gonzaloarvietti4920]

Is awesome hearing a massacre?

[@ConsumerFanatics]

I’m in SF and gophers have taken over my backyard. Time to get a pet heron.

[@joselugo3685]

Have you checked out rent a heron?

[@ffadriala]

@@joselugo3685 hope he does not confuse it with rent a heroin

[@A96RangerPrerunner]

Nice I’m right by the bay too, beach view

[@mickcarson8504]

What is SF?

[@joselugo3685]

@@mickcarson8504 San Francisco or South Famerica

[@spacekitt.n]

herons are such glorious creatures, they seem like visitors from the dinosaur age more so than other birds

[@rhondamadgirl]

They really do look like dinosaurs! They way it was stalking made me think of those velociraptors in Jurassic Park.😮

[@anatolijku7242]

да, ровесники динозавров. 150 млн лет инволюции. кроту 5 млн лет. они бывшие люди, деградировавшие. Теория Инволюции.

[@ae1ae2]

Look out mammals -- dinosaurs walk among us.

[@TrusttheY]

But they don't.....

[@bibleburner8426]

@@TrusttheY Modern birds descended from therapod dinosaurs. Birds are modern day dinosaurs. www.nbcnews.com/id/28985201/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/nine-links-transition-dinosaurs-birds/#.XzB_MK-SlPY

[@bignoob5838]

@@TrusttheY yes they do

[@goated-yt2370]

Yusuf Baaghil crocodiles are dinosaurs you know?

[@magalha1000]

@@goated-yt2370 no, they aren't.

[@RikkiTikkiTavi290]

Saw one of these guys eat a WHOLE box turtle in the Everglades once. Thought he would choke and die for sure but he he kept drinking water and eventually the turtle disappeared. One of the strangest things in nature I've ever seen, could see the shape of the turtle in his neck.

[@sunnysgadgetreviews5886]

Dang! I was thinking they'd tear the gophers apart before eating but they swallowed them whole.

[@ladabe4979]

@James Merryman would it be possible for one of them to chew their way out after being swallowed if they were still alive?

[@flygod.]

@@ladabe4979 did you read it tho;-;

[@alanb8884]

@James Merryman Cold hard yet beautiful nature. Where's your messiah now, Flanders?

[@exoressdelivers70]

@@ladabe4979 The bird's throat is like a garden water hose. If you take a gopher and stuffed it into a garden water hose there is no way the gopher can even open its mouth while inside the water hose to chew its way out.

[@ladabe4979]

@James Merryman thank you Professor. It was a question I've always thought to myself as a child.

[@havinjlo09]

They're just cutting down on their seafood intake. A conscious lifestyle choice to reduce intake of mercury. Damn these birds are smart 😂😂😂

[@calartian85]

1:10 that eye is stone cold velociraptor.

[@JustangGT500]

Was literally thinking the same thing!

[@claychaney5944]

I've never seen a velocirapor

[@sunsoutgunsout2046]

How do you know? No one alive today has ever seen a velociraptor eye.

[@Peterisheree]

@@sunsoutgunsout2046 dude havent you seen the movies? they totally know what they look like!

[@sunsoutgunsout2046]

@@Peterisheree you got me there.

[@thedogkin4572]

God the heron's lifeless eyes are terrifying

[@MybeautifulandamazingPrincess]

When they move their heads to look around it's even more! It's like the raptors in Jurassic park looking for the victims

[@talonflame_brawlstars.7208]

Exactly! The emotionless look birds have when taking down prey is just so eerie

[@justaninja1]

Ok that like the most dramatic music on a nature piece I've ever heard...and perfect timing too. 👍

[@jerryvalencia7733]

😂lol 👊

[@hotice8885]

I have seen how aggressively these birds avoid humans, and how far away they keep themselves from us. You must have an _incredible_ lens, to get such great footage!

[@privatebubba8876]

That heron needed a break from it's constant fish diet.

[@seanmchugh4813]

Wow!!! Awesome and awesome video/production!! A good reason/reminder to NOT USE POISON!!! We don't want poison to kill these amazing and beneficial creatures that keep nature in balance as much as we screw it up! ☮️

[@nrg16108]

Still so many humans spray Roundup on their lawns & gardens. Foolish Sheeple!

[@gerritstell6248]

"The only good gopher, is a dead gopher". Bill Murray.

[@motufunguabungsowi8349]

Brilliant camerawork, editing and soundtrack choices and placement. A small masterpiece indeed.

[@LHnative]

Imagine being that gophers buddy just chillin underground together an the next thing you know a big ass beak crashes through ur ceiling an snatches him away 😳

[@spec-ktrading5112]

I need 3-4 of those birds in my yard PRONTO!!!

[@Sean-tn7xm]

I see these all the time here in montreal i love to watch them hunt so cool

[@aikeedohayyah2745]

Imagine watching those eyes fade away as you slide down the tube of darkness.

[@muffintop420]

Amazing how some animals have adapted to living in cities.

[@jeffreytilton4253]

Can you rent one, the neighbors just hate it when you shoot at the lawn with a Mauser.

[@MiGujack3]

@Daver G Dunno man, grenades are also effective.

[@MiGujack3]

@Daver G compensate with more grenades until neighbors stop complaining.

[@arnoldtm31]

I use a .177 air rifle. Dirt cheap, safe and way too much fun.

[@RikkiTikkiTavi290]

@@arnoldtm31 .22 is better for gopher. They're tough little bastards. .177 has to be perfectly placed which is tough with a cheaper pellet gun

[@leyrua]

Just use a nuke. It solves your gopher problem, and your neighbors _won't_ complain about it.

[@drewm.3130]

Omfg! Thank you sooo much for recording all of this and posting it.

[@crazy4cockapoos]

incredible footage, esp with the bridge in background. thanks for posting.

[@SkypowerwithKarl]

I’ve seen them fishing along the river but never knew what they were after on land. Now I do.

[@ToutCQJM]

How is this “graphic”? This is just nature in its simplest form. Do people expect animals to hold hands and eat rainbow candy together?

[@asdfghjklzxcvbnm6874]

easy there tough guy

[@picachufan2000]

As a person who has grown up watching nature documentaries not that graphic especially since we didn't even hear the gophers screaming

[@louielouiepks]

Sweet Tarts

[@plaguedr8831]

They’re in California, so probably

[@khabibmcgregor3592]

Well you know how people these days are getting soft and get offended over anything easily... wait

[@popeyepanther4519]

Thanks for a great video. Really nice quality and sound.

[@kaz6916]

That blank emotionless stare as it grips the frantically struggling gopher in its bill....the bird has neither the capability, nor the inclination, to empathize with mammalian distress. "I admire its purity. A survivor... Unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality.”

[@kaz6916]

James Merryman I know, I’m just being unnecessarily melodramatic. I mean when you get right down to it, cats have very little variation in facial expression vs dogs or some other mammals - possibly related to their less social lifestyle. But I’ve always noted the particularly “alien” quality that some predatory birds have to them. The quote is from the movie “Alien” in fact.

[@alanb8884]

@James Merryman Thanks for the detailed info! Science!

[@macross7k]

My goodness...😧 It's amazing how they could digest them without even chewing before they swallow?

[@alanb8884]

Tough to chew with a beak.

[@FriendlyMarmot]

Makes me wonder, do herons make pellets out of undigested bones and fur, the same way owls do?

[@shammydammy2610]

@@FriendlyMarmot Yes. They do.

[@PestilentAllosaurus]

They do their best to break bone or paralyze their prey by crushing spine, etc before swallowing.

[@HelenaMikas]

they swallow a whole lot of duckling one after the other .Not so cool to watch .

[@oshimad]

Cheers to whoever edited the music to synchronize when the heron attacked the gopher

[@leftydiablo]

Excellent camera work. Thank you.

[@Dave-pt2qd]

Excellent editing and music! Great job 👍

[@twmpuketa]

Looks like theres a bunch of gophers running around with giant stab wounds from just missing being lunch

[@jeffwalker9122]

Pocket gophers, also known as moles...very different from Prairie dogs, also called gophers. Pocket gophers live underground and leave mounds of soil everywhere up top.

[@aliceyang6122]

San Francisco heron hunting gophers is really rare, it is not easy to photograph herons hunting gophers, see the end, great video, great sharing! 👍👍👍

[@stephenjones6030]

By far the best heron-eating-rodent video compilation I've seen.

[@TheMrBmurray]

Looks like Bill Murray's problems in Caddyshack would have been solved if he got a heron.

[@edgy8481]

Clever editing!

[@deesnoots]

They’re going deeper and deeper into the city! The wild is coming back to the cities and I kinda like it

[@LectronCircuits]

Heron's take on the "Big Gulp" is awesome. Bon apetít. Cheers!

[@basiliomcginte1840]

0h my god nooo that little gopher arms and paws struggling to get away at 1:13. It was so adorable😭😭😭😭

[@Renville80]

It’s all fun and games until you twist your ankle on a hidden gopher hole.

[@MMP583]

Jesus...its like a bow and arrow. The neck tenses like drawing back the string, then strikes - the release of the arrow! Intense...😐

[@graphicsRat]

Superb editing and sound. And the Oscar goes to ...

[@desursins]

this was a great video. thanks for doing it!!

[@jeffpaggett7274]

When the apocalypse comes - I want an army of Heron's.

[@Modernww2fare]

They remind me of the raptors from Jurassic Park III

[@ELEKTROGOWK]

great video 👍👍👍👍👍 great sound FX

[@odinsmeadhorn196]

The sadist who put this gem together, wow.

[@abiseniyya]

I need 3 or 4 of these.. wait, my house doesn't have a lawn. Never mind.

[@patron40silver]

Sandy: "I want you to kill every gopher on the course!" Carl Spackler: "Check me if I'm wrong, Sandy, but if I kill all the golfers, they're gonna lock me up and throw away the key...

[@KnifeinHand]

"Its not my fault nobody can understand what your saying"

[@buffalobill4216]

Great montage and music!

[@agentoranges]

Ruthless dinosaurs the at thing was wriggling for its life while herons like chomp chomp

[@amihan99]

Thanks youtube algorithms

[@skyhiker9669]

I rather enjoyed that. But then gophers are ruining my lawn, so...

[@ryguy5859]

The gunshot and heartbeat sfx are priceless 😂

[@mmatsuno415]

Love it! Our back yard has a gopher condo complex.

[@GazAce]

Umm remind me not to come back as a Gopher in San Fran

[@wolf1326]

Heron looks at camera wanna see something cool kids

[@PassiveLearner365]

The sounds design was beautiful

[@jamcrx]

Great edit and quality.

[@colettelovers666]

Holy S! I’m hungry

[@countalucard4226]

Think the gopher was saying “please I have a wife and children”

[@PestilentAllosaurus]

Heron be like : *oh? Where might I ask?*

[@LocoMe4u]

Good video! Very good editing!

[@stephendaly8025]

I loved it, nice work!

[@Hedonistic100]

Now how do I get these birds in my backyard

[@WohtotheMax]

I think it's the same question as how do you get customers in your restaurant? You need good marketing and sales. Try hanging dead gophers on a stick

[@makisekurisu8594]

If you have a pond and add fishes you don’t care about they might come if you have herons in your area

[@charlesdarwin6224]

@@WohtotheMax dear God man

[@johnbasedow8973]

one of the only animals we dont feel bad for seeing getting eaten

[@shin-ishikiri-no]

Why?

[@suchomimustenerensis5302]

@@shin-ishikiri-no People don't care for gophers because they're considered pests. Digging holes in lawns in pastures, which can also be a tripping hazard for humans and livestock.

[@CorekBleedingHollow]

Outstanding video

[@pheonix6119]

1:14 "You see this sh*t, camera man? _You're next._ "

[@mehdijawn]

Nobody wants to talk about the black top heron crisis is killing our gopher youth

[@PrivateSmiles]

The opioid crisis with claws and a beak.

[@Plainsimple67]

LOOKS LIKE NANCY PELOSI!!!😂😂

[@EyEpOkEr1000]

If Trump is a rat, then yes

[@brentlowry3078]

My aunt loves the great blues because if there's ever a rat in the yard the great blue is going to find it

[@PestilentAllosaurus]

Plus they're so elegant to look at!

[@ckamina768]

Dinosaurs man! Living, breathing dinosaurs!

[@izzyhilisa7936]

Bro my brother can’t stop watching heron videos he’s obsessed

[@TheBlindSwordsman]

Those drum patterns are intense😮😮😮

[@CJCroen1393]

The precision of all those strikes is _freaking terrifying._

[@Kejsh22]

Awesome video! Well done!

[@rivs-bn4ho]

Beautiful and patient

[@jckyhn7329]

Nicely done!

[@richardkev3077]

I’ve watched them for years. Herons are brutal and merciless.

[@PestilentAllosaurus]

Such graceful and amazing predators.

[@mohsin19999995]

Damn nature, YOU SCARY

[@DDRUTOU]

Man....the music made that intense!!!

[@BatmanBoss]

Magnificent video

[@jonchildress3355]

I love these birds their very independent i like how they roll solo

[@BoogalooBoy]

We have herons down here in North Carolina all the time, they seem pretty docile to humans.

[@joeblowjohnny2297]

Wow ..... I NEVER realized how much Herons legs got so much in common with the old lady ? I called her sticks ! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@bhaktiarunavedanta8379]

*Heron : i will solve your rats problem*

[@NathanChisholm041]

Great sharp footage

[@birdingplanet]

Great Heron video 👍

[@raphlvlogs271]

really well made.

[@fettuccine99]

Thats some intense editing

[@drew1528]

That was awesome I love the backwards knee of birds

[@rexon31]

thats actually there ankle birds so called feet are the pad and toes , there knees ha way higher up

[@findkip]

Swallowing live and whole like a Boss!!!

[@goldwolf0606]

Awesome video

[@zookeethehunter7790]

Cool video, nice photogopher

[@rayajayce2034]

My dad's dog Bo would be proud. We hunt gophers together by hand and paw every spring. Bonding activity 😁

[@Sorken.1994]

I would like to be a gopher after I die. I would like to be reborn as a gopher.

[@rayajayce2034]

@@Sorken.1994 I would do my best to give you a short extended life in a large tank set-up like an ant terrarium but for gophers (on demand corn snake food) ... It's just difficult to save every gopher caught because my dog Bo likes to swallow them whole if I don't grab them quick enough. I call gophers "California hamsters" because they are so similar.