 |
| ▲ Source = Black Kite / Wikimedia Commons |
Wildfires are a very lethal event for forests and the diverse wildlife that live there. However, these disasters proved to be very beneficial for certain species, especially for certain types of birds known as 'fire predators'.
LiveScience said the predator "eats a small animal running away from the fire or eats the remains of dead creatures sacrificed to the flames".
Raptors such as black kite, whistling kite and brown falcon hunt using fire. These raptor species are known to be ambushed near fire-prone areas, or to burn small mammals or insects using tree branches.
In a recent study, scientists reported that Australian indigenous people and ordinary citizens witnessed the person who caused the fire. An Aboriginal Australians said, "I saw one bird grab a branch with his claws and drop it on a dry field about half a mile away. I waited with my fellow birds for rodents and reptiles to escape. "
This behavior of birds was first recorded in 1962, an autobiography written by journalist Douglas Rockwood.
In another case, Aboriginal Australians said, "The brown falcons spread 'the twig with the fire' beside the stream in a place where there is no flame."
Scientists have referred to several reports of raptors that deliberately carry out arson to "draw more food". The study was published in the December 2017 issue of the Journal of Ethnobiology.
