Britains apex predator?

[shadowx]

As the title says, what is Britain's apex predator?

In terms of birds I would guess either a Peregrine falcon or an eagle up in scotland? Not much is going to hunt and kill a Peregrine

As for ground animals though... Badgers are pretty strong, and are omnivores, but then Scotland has a few wild cats, not as big and strong as a badger though.

as for fish there is only one contender, having caught enough I know the pike is king among kings in the water!! But as for land animals...

Any thoughts?

Purely curiosity!

[~T~]

I would say a very large Wels catfish would have no problem eating even the largest pike if it was to get hold of one. I know they are not native but are present in the UK nevertheless.

[RKB]

Originally Posted by shadowx

As the title says, what is Britain's apex predator?

In terms of birds I would guess either a Peregrine falcon or an eagle up in scotland? Not much is going to hunt and kill a Peregrine

Goshawk can easily handle a Peregrine, as would a white-tailed eagle (taking one off the nest). But the eagle owls (which are now feral) predate all of those, taking them off nests.

[Monkey Orchid]

How about heron? And otter.

[shadowx]

Fair point about a wells catty! I make you right there, a sperm whale would have trouble eating a Wells!

Thanks for the info about the eagle owl, I will have to read up on that a bit now! I know eagles are powerful but a peregrine is just damn fast!

The heron is pretty high on the list of predators, as is the otter, but given the info about the Eagle owl and other Eagles I dont suppose a smaller heron would be a problem.

[STYRBJORN]

Dolphin? Porbeagle? H.sapiens is the real killer anyway.

[The Woodman]

We forget the aquatic species, Styrbjorn, would the seals enter the frame as well?

[nigel_b]

It's an interesting one. I've seen all sorts of birds chasing off a peregrine. The other night I saw a swallow seeing off a hobby on the heath but haven't uploaded the photos here, and last year managed to snap this brave swallow seeing off a sparrowhawk of all things.



Is an eagle owl considered native? I'm guessing its pretty much top-of-the-tree anyways ha ha.

[Burko]

Orca.

Not much is going to touch one of them.

[STYRBJORN]

> Burko - I wondered about them as well, but are there any that could be said to live in British waters? I realise they can be seen in the Isles and Shetland.

> Woodman - a lot of professional fishermen would say so. In fact, trawlermen are allowed to shoot seals that are taking stocks of fish.