ゼニガタアザラシとミズダコの戦いがネット上で話題となっている。写真家のボブ・イアンソン氏がこの奇妙な光景を写真に収めたのだ。
ベッド用品メーカー「エアルームリネンズ」のオーナーでもあるイアンソン氏は2月9日、カナダビクトリアのオグデンポイントの防波堤を家族と散歩しているときに、2匹の生き物が戦っているのを目撃した。そしてすぐにカメラを取り出した。
Bob Ianson
「私たちが戻ってくると、2匹のアザラシが浮き上がってきたように見えました」とイアンソン氏はハフポストUS版に語った。「ですが、水面まで浮き上がってくると、口に何かをくわえたアザラシだとわかったのです。くわえられていたのはタコでした」
「アザラシは口にタコをくわえていて、私の目を見て『これ見てよ』と言って私にプレゼントしてくれるかのようでした。アザラシはまさに私の方を向いていたのです」
Bob Ianson
イアンソン氏の推定によれば、アザラシの体長は4.5フィート（約1.4メートル）ほどで、ミズダコが絡みついている状態が10分ほど続いたが、最後はタコが力尽きた。
「アザラシが優位でした」とイアンソン氏は言うが、一方的な戦いではなかった。
Bob Ianson
「私が数枚写真を撮ると、アザラシはタコと一緒に沈んでいき、また浮いてきました。3回目に浮いてきたとき、タコはアザラシの体に絡まっていました。タコは文字通りアザラシの頭に絡みついていました」
イアンソン氏が撮影した写真は驚くべきものだが、専門家によれば、アザラシがタコを食べるのはよくあることなのだという。
「タコはゼニガタアザラシが通常食べる生物のひとつです」。バンクーバー水族館の生物学研究者のチャッド・ノードストロム氏はCBCに語った。「しかし、それを実際に写真に収めるのは珍しいことです」
イアンソン氏が写真に収めたタコの重さはわからないが、モンテレー湾水族館のレポートによると、十分に成長したミズダコは、体重が50ポンド（約22.5キロ）になることもあるという。体重の最高記録は600ポンド（約270キロ）で、足を広げると30フィート（約9.1メートル）近くだ。
Bob Ianson
Bob Ianson
Bob Ianson
Bob Ianson
Amazing Sea Creatures
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This undated image provided by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation shows Toola, a sea otter who died at the aquarium, Saturday March 3, 2012, in Monterey, Calif. Believed to be 15 or 16, Toola succumbed to natural causes and to the infirmities of age, an aquarium spokesman said. (AP Photo/Monterey Bay Aquarium) (credit:AP)
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A California sea lion and a walrus kiss each other during a show at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium-amusement park complex in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo, Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye) (credit:AP)
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A red lionfish (Pterois volitans) swims in the aquarium of the Schonbrunn zoo in the gardens of the Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna on October 16, 2012. The red lionfish is a venomous coral reef fish. ALEXANDER KLEIN/AFP/Getty Images (credit:Getty Images)
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A two-day-old female white whale swims with her mother at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium-amusement park complex in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo, Saturday, June 30, 2012.(AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye) (credit:AP)
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A seahorse swims in an aquarium in the zoo of Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012.(AP Photo/Michael Probst) (credit:AP)
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A Cownose Ray swims in a tank during a preview of the newly renovated Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium at Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Neb., Wednesday, April 4, 2012.The aquarium opens to the general public on Thursday, April 5. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik) (credit:AP)
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King penguins stand in an enclosure at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium-amusement park complex in Yokohama, near Tokyo, Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012.(AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye) (credit:AP)
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In this photo taken Thursday Aug. 2, 2012 and released by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a male weedy sea dragon at the Monterey Bay Aquarium swims with some of his newly hatched babies on in a sea dragon display thats part of the aquariums special exhibition, The Secret Lives of Seahorses. in Monterey, Calif. The inch-long fish, Australian relatives of the seahorse, were carried as eggs on a brood pouch under the father sea dragons tail. (AP Photo/Monterey Bay Aquarium, Randy Wilder) (credit:AP)
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Activists from environment campaign group Greenpeace wearing cardboard tuna cutouts hold a protest in front of South Korea\'s embassy in Manila on November 29, 2012. The activists sought conservation commitments from the fishing powers in the upcoming global summit on Pacific tuna fisheries to be hosted by the Philippines next week. NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images (credit:Getty Images)
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This Sept. 5, 2012 photo shows Serena, a dugong at the Toba Aquarium in Toba, Japan. Dugongs, a sea mammal related to the manatee, are rare in captivity. The aquarium gift shop sells stuffed dugongs and dugong cookies. (AP Photo/Linda Lombardi) (credit:AP)
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This May 9, 2012 photo provided by the New England Aquarium in Boston shows a rare calico lobster that could be a 1-in-30 million, according to experts. The lobster, discovered by Jasper Whites Summer Shack and caught off Winter Harbor, Maine, is being held at the New England Aquarium for the Biomes Marine Biology Center in Rhode Island. The lobster is dark with bright orange and yellow spots. (AP Photo/New England Aquarium, Tony LaCasse) (credit:AP)
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Pterophyllum scalare fish are displayed at the 2012 Taiwan International Aquarium Expo in Taipei on November 9, 2012. More than one hundred fish tanks from many countries will be on display in the four day exhibition at Nangang Exhibition Hall from November 9 to 12. Mandy Cheng/AFP/Getty Images (credit:Getty Images)
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In this Oct. 15, 2012 photo provided by the Wildlife Conservation Society, Mitik, an orphaned Pacific walrus calf rescued off the coast of Alaska, emerges from his tank at the New York Aquarium in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Mitik suffered from a number of ailments when he was rescued in July but is making progress as he receives round-the-clock care at the aquarium. (AP Photo/Wildlife Conservation Society, Julie Larsen Maher) (credit:AP)
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Phenacogrammus interruptus fish are displayed at the 2012 Taiwan International Aquarium Expo in Taipei on November 9, 2012. More than one hundred fish tanks from many countries will be on display in the four day exhibition at Nangang Exhibition Hall from November 9 to 12. Mandy Cheng/AFP/Getty Images (credit:Getty Images)
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This photo taken July 4, 2012, at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, Alaska, shows a baby beluga calf being rehabilitated at the center. The whale was approximately two days old when it was found in Bristol Bay, Alaska, and separated from its mother. Staff from the Alaska SeaLife Center is receiving help with the whale\'s care from the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Shedd Aquarium in ChiCago and SeaWord in San Diego.. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen) (credit:AP)
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A Pacific white-sided dolphin calf swims along with its mother Piquet, Tuesday, June 12, 2012, at Chicago\'s Shedd Aquarium. The baby male dolphin, which does not have a name, was born on Memorial Day. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato) (credit:AP)
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A seahorse (Hippocampus Reidi) is displayed during a news conference before the 2012 Taiwan International Aquarium Expo in Taipei November 5, 2012. More then one hundred tanks of fish from many countries will be on display in the four day exhibition at Nangang Exhibition Hall from November 9 to 12. Mandy Cheng/AFP/Getty Images (credit:Getty Images)
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A still unnamed King penguin chick that hatched on April 9 is unveiled at The Aquarium at Moody Gardens, Monday, April 23, 2012, in Galveston, Texas. A blood test will be conducted to determine the gender of the bird who came into life weighing about 20 ounces. This chick is the 14th King penguin chick to have been successfully bred at the aquarium. Due to space limitations, this chick will be go to another facility once weaned from its parents. The chick currently is in the main penguin exhibit at the aquarium which also home to Gentoo, Macaroni, Rockhopper and Chinstrap penguins. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Johnny Hanson) (credit:AP)
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A Rock Beauty angelfish looks out from its tank at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium in Cleveland Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. Developed by Marinescape NZ Limited, Ohio\'s only free-standing aquarium opens Thursday with two preview days for annual pass holders and opens to the public Saturday, Jan. 21. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan) (credit:AP)
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This image provided by the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium shows a female Argonaut, or paper nautilus, a species of cephalopod that was recently scooped out of the ocean off the California coast. The baseball-sized animal is making herself at home at the aquarium, bobbing up and down in her tank furling and unfurling her sucker-covered arms. This strange octopus is rare in California, because it only lives in tropical and subtropical waters. (AP Photo/Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, Gary Florin) (credit:AP)
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In this photo released on Friday April 27,2012 by the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach showing Shelby, one of the Aquariums female harbor seals, who is 16 years old and gave birth to her first pup today Friday April 27,2012. The newborn female seal weighs approximately 20 pounds. Aquarium of the Pacific mammal and bird curator Dudley Wigdahl says Shelby 16 years old and gave birth to her first pup when most seals start having pups at 4 or 5.(AP Photo/Terri Haines, Aquarium of the Pacific) (credit:AP)
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Turkey fish swim in an aquarium in the zoo of Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Michael Probst) (credit:AP)
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A Magellanic penguin swims in the June Keyes Penguin Habitat exhibit at The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Calif., Wednesday, May 16, 2012. (AP Photo/The Orange County Register, Mark Rightmire) (credit:AP)
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A common spider tortoise is seen in its enclosure at the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston, S.C., on Tuesday, May 1, 2012. The creature is part of a new exhibit, Madagascar Journey, opening at the aquarium on Saturday, May 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Bruce Smith) (credit:AP)
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A blue caribbean tang swims over an artificial coral reef inside the Greater Cleveland Aquarium in Cleveland Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. Constructed in an old powerhouse, Ohio\'s only free-standing aquarium opens Thursday with two preview days for annual pass holders and opens to the public Saturday, Jan. 21. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan) (credit:AP)
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A new baby Fairy Penguin swims at the Sydney Aquarium in Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. Three juveniles were born at the aquarium and have been separated from the main group since birth to ensure a healthy growth rate and to keep them safer while they were still young. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith) (credit:AP)
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This image provided by the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium shows a female Argonaut, or paper nautilus, a species of cephalopod that was recently scooped out of the ocean off the California coast. The baseball-sized animal is making herself at home at the aquarium, bobbing up and down in her tank furling and unfurling her sucker-covered arms. This strange octopus is rare in California, because it only lives in tropical and subtropical waters. (AP Photo/Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, Gary Florin) (credit:AP)
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In this Monday, Aug. 27, 2012 photo, Mauyak, a beluga whale at Chicago\'s Shedd Aquarium, swims with her newly born calf at the aquarium\'s Abbott Oceanarium. Shedds animal care team estimates that the calf is 4½ feet long and weighs about 150 pounds. The newborn is the sixth successful birth as part of Shedds collaboration in the beluga whale breeding cooperative. (AP Photo/Shedd Aquarium, Brenna Hernandez) (credit:AP)
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Freshwater exotics Greater Cleveland Aquarium in Cleveland Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. Ohio\'s only free-standing aquarium opens Thursday with two preview days for annual pass holders and opens to the public Saturday, Jan. 21. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan) (credit:AP)
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Walrus, (Odobenus rosmarus), Neseyka swims in the new aquarium in the Hamburg Hagenbeck zoo, Thursday, July 5, 2012. (AP Photo/dapd/ Philipp Guelland) (credit:AP)
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In this May 24, 2012 photo provided by the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Cayucos, bottom left, an orphaned sea otter pup, swims with other otters as she makes her first public appearance at the aquarium\'s Abbott Oceanarium. The sea otter was found stranded on a beach in California and named after the beach where she was rescued. The staff at Shedd has nursed the 7-month-old otter back to health. She has put on 11 pounds since arriving at the aquarium in January and now weighs 26 pounds. (AP Photo/Shedd Aquarium, Brenna Hernandez) (credit:AP)
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A male walrus pokes his tongue out at his trainer during a practice at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium-amusement park complex in Yokohama, near Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye) (credit:AP)
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In this photo taken on May 7, 2012 and distributed by Japan Coast Guard\'s 3rd Regional Coast Guard Headquarters Thursday, May 17, a fugitive Humboldt penguin swims in the water in Tokyo Bay. The one-year-old penguin Number 337 which escaped from a Tokyo aquarium in March has been spotted alive in the water busy with many ships throughout the day. (AP Photo/Japan Coast Guard\'s 3rd Regional Coast Guard Headquarters) (credit:AP)
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In this March 2012 photo provided by the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Piquet, a Pacific white-sided dolphin, swims at the aquarium. Care experts are preparing for Piquet to give birth this spring. Veterinarians and other staff members are planning a sleepover at the aquarium when it is shutdown because of the upcoming NATO summit May 20-21, 2012. Shedd officials say they\'re worried about being able to get to the aquarium, which is in close proximity to the summit and protest route, quickly if needed. (AP Photo/Shedd Aquarium, Brenna Hernandez) (credit:AP)
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This undated photo provided by the Monterey Bay Aquarium shows a dwarf seahorse at the aquarium in Monterey, Calif. The government will study whether the inch-long seahorse the smallest of four species found in U.S. waters should have federal protection. The dwarf seahorse lives only in seagrass beds in the Gulf of Mexico. (AP Photo/Monterey Bay Aquarium, Randy Wilder) (credit:AP)
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Georgia Aquarium\'s resident pregnant beluga whale Maris swims in the aquarium\'s tank in Atlanta, Wednesday, April 11, 2012. Maris, is expected to give birth by June. She the first mammal to conceive at the downtown Atlanta attraction since it opened in 2005. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) (credit:AP)
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FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2010 file photo, Asian bighead carp swim in an exhibit at Chicago\'s Shedd Aquarium. Officials said Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012, the Obama administration will spend about $50 million this year to shield the Great Lakes from greedy Asian carp, including first-time water sampling to determine whether the destructive fish have established a foothold in Lakes Michigan and Erie. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File) (credit:AP)
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Details of a whale is seen as the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Team performs a necropsy on the beach in Ocean View in Norfolk, Va., on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/The Virginian-Pilot, Preston Gannaway) (credit:AP)
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In this January 2012 photo provided by the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, a whale swims off the coast of Virginia. Whales by the dozen are wintering in the unseasonably warm waters off the resort city of Virginia Beach, Va., attracting a flotilla of recreational boats packed with sightseers and fishermen hoping to glimpse the big mammals gorging on tons of bait fish within sight of the oceanfront\'s high-rise hotels. (AP Photo/Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center) (credit:AP)
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In this photo taken Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012, a baby Grouper fish swims in an aquarium to be farmed and sold to China under new trade deals benefiting the local fish farming villages in Beimen, southern Taiwan. The fish farmers on the terraced plains above Taiwan\'s west coast are riding a China boom, exporting tons of sweet, flaky milkfish to the mainland, thanks to export duties Beijing lowered to win over the island\'s voters. (AP Photo/Wally Santana) (credit:AP)
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This undated 2010 handout photo provided by AquaBounty Technologies shows two same-age salmon, a genetically modified salmon, rear, and a non-genetically modified salmon, foreground. Salmon that\'s genetically modified to grow twice as fast as normal could soon show up on your dinner plate if the company that makes the fish can stay afloat. (AP Photo/AquaBounty Technologies) (credit:AP)
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