Montreal photographer captures dramatic Canada goose vs. fox fight on video

Last Wednesday, Ilana Block was at Montreal's Botanical Garden snapping pictures of warblers during the peak of the migrating season when she heard a commotion in the water several feet away.

A Canada goose was thrashing about, defending itself from a small fox that had the bird's neck in its mouth.

A fox faces off with a Canada Goose at the Montreal Botanical Garden on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (Source: Ilana Block)

Not wanting to interrupt Mother Nature, she covertly dashed over to the dramatic scene using the trees to cover herself from their view and get a better glimpse of the brawl. Then, she took out her camera and started shooting.

"It was unbelievable. The fox kept going after the goose and the goose was flapping and hitting it. The fox was limping at one point because the goose is way bigger than the fox. It was crazy and the fox would just go and lie in the grass and wait and watch and then it would go after the goose again," she recounted in an interview on Tuesday.

Canada geese are often preyed upon by foxes, coyotes, eagles and other animals. Block said the goose put up a tough fight — it was screaming at the four-legged predator, causing it to keep its tail between its legs.

The fox finally gave up and went on to hunt a much smaller prey: a squirrel.

"It was quite a fascinating interaction. It's really amazing," Block said.

She shared a video of the wild encounter on her Facebook page on Tuesday.