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Spending a lot of times in the outdoors I get to see different life struggles. Some are very interesting and some are very gruesome. Life in the wild with predators can be a never ending struggle, if you are the prey. But just recently I was able to witness a very interesting struggle. The first was a life and death struggle between a 2 inch crayfish and a 4 inch leach. I was watching the small crayfish in the shallows next to a rock. Soon a leach, green back with red spots came swimming by and attacked the crayfish. He hit the crayfish on the top hard shell right behind the head and wrapped around his body. The crayfish was un-able to use his pinchers to defend himself. It appeared the crayfish was going to lose so I though I would even the odds and placed a 3 inch crayfish beside the battle.

 

Funny thing was the 3 inch crayfish was not happy I pulled him out of his rock crevice and was quickly trying to depart the scene when the leach made a bad mistake.  With his other end he un-wrapped from the first crayfish and just when the second was almost out of range attacked him. Another 2 seconds and the larger crayfish would have been in deep water unconcerned with the battle. But, because the leach became greedy and tried for 2 at once he would soon learn a valuable lesson.

 

The larger crayfish did not appreciate being attacked from behind and whipped around attacking the leach with both his pincers and the first crayfish now was free to use his pinchers. He quickly joined in the battle using his 2 pinches. The leach curled up and swung the 2 crayfish side by side. Bad mistake. Now 4 pinches were quickly leaving slices on his body. The leach tried his best to straighten out separating and turning the crayfish on their back, but both were dug in tight to the creek gravel.  The leach was quickly losing and I thought was going to change from attacking predator to eaten prey.

 

The leach scenting his losing battle quickly let go of both crayfish and swam off. If not for his greed he would have killed the first crayfish. I admit I helped in his defeat, but the other crayfish was trying to leave when he was attacked by greed.  I watched the leach swim 10 feet until he came upon 2 crayfish sitting in front of a rock. This time the leach attacked the smaller one and left the other one go. The second crayfish kicked with his back tail and was gone in a flash. Less then 2 minutes the crayfish was dead and the leach was sucking his blood.

 

I have learned this very lesson when I become greedy and tried for 2 birds instead of taking the sure shot and getting one to eat, I ended up with none. Something to think about.

 

Bruce "Buckshot"