Rare bird looks spooked in trail cam video, then predator emerges in Thai forest
In the Kha Thoon Wildlife Sanctuary, newly installed trail cameras captured the moment a rare bird came face to face with a fearsome predator.
The footage, recorded on June 29, was shared by the Thailand Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation on July 10, and shows a great argus come into frame, according to the Facebook post.
Great argus, or Argusianus argus, is a species of pheasant considered internationally vulnerable. Males are known for their long and colorful plumes, and their loud calls can be heard echoing through the forests of southeast Asia.
As soon as the bird steps in front of the camera, its long feathers are on display and the bird appears agitated and flighty, the video shows.
The bird quickly dances away from the clearing at the center of the frame, but stays just a few feet away.
Then, something crawls out from the edge of the trees.
A monitor lizard, or Varanus salvator, joins the bird in front of the lens, blundering into the clearing as the bird once again shoots up its feathers and charges the lizard before darting off, the video shows.
The monitor lizard crosses the clearing as its tongue darts out, then the video stops.
Wildlife officials said the interaction is not one of predator and prey, but rather a type of unconscious mutual dependence and coexistence, according to the post.
Monitor lizards are both predators and scavengers, and live in vast territories where they are able to forage over a large range, officials said. Great argus, on the other hand, prefer larger open spaces within the forest when they can spread their feathers in colorful displays to attract their mates.
They unknowingly work together, officials said, as the great argus can alert the surrounding area to danger, acting as an early warning system.
This could even alert monitor lizards to potential prey options and hidden food, officials said.
The presence of both animals bodes well for the health of the wildlife sanctuary, and trail cameras will continue to monitor the wildlife that calls Kha Thoon home, according to the post.
Kha Thoon is in the Nakhon Si Thammarat province in southeastern Thailand, off the coast of the Gulf of Thailand.
Chat GPT, an AI chatbot, was used to translate the Facebook post from the Thailand Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
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