Grey seal spits water jet at eagle in unusual battle near Isle of Wight

A grey seal has been seen spitting a jet of water at an eagle in what experts have called a unique exchange.

The event, from January 2022, was captured by a birdwatcher at Newtown Harbour on the Isle of Wight.

University of Portsmouth palaeontologist Megan Jacobs said in a new study this was the predators' first recorded interaction.

Her mother Clare Jacobs caught the battle on camera and said it "made my year".

She described how the white-tailed eagle swooped towards the water's surface during a high tide on the island.

As the bird made its approach, an adult grey seal emerged from the water emitting barks of warning, before spitting a stream of water directly at the eagle.

Megan Jacobs works with the school of the environment, geography, and geosciences at the University of Portsmouth.

She has co-authored a study for the Isle of Wight Natural History and Archaeological Society journal, which looks at this unusual moment.

She said: "This is the first recording of an interaction between these two top predators and the first report of grey seals using spitting as a means of defence or deterrence against an aerial foe.

"The spitting may be a strategy to exclude white-tailed eagles from competing for prey as they're in direct competition for fish resources."

White-tailed eagles are the UK's largest bird of prey and they can achieve a maximum wingspan reaching 2.6m (8.5ft).

They became extinct on the Isle of Wight in 1780 but were reintroduced on the island in the summer of 2019.

Ms Jacobs said: "I'm thrilled we've got photographic evidence, as spitting is usually just seen in humans, camels, llamas and alpacas, as well as some snakes where it's used for venom delivery, and it can also be used for prey capture by the archer fish."

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