Raptors rumble: Owl goes after hawk, clutches it in claws at LL Bean display in Vermont mall

BURLINGTON, Vt. – The grand opening of an L.L. Bean store in Vermont has ruffled some feathers, with an owl attacking a hawk in a shopping mall display.

Officials say a European eagle owl attacked a Harris’s hawk Friday in Burlington’s Town Center Mall.

The Burlington Free Press reports witnesses said the owl squeezed the hawk in its claws for several minutes, causing the hawk to shriek.

Workers at the mall display for the Freeport, Maine-based outdoors outfitter separated the birds.

The birds are from Talons! A Bird of Prey Experience. Master falconer Lorrie Schumacher says the birds had known each other for six years and had never gone after each other before. She says they’re always in close proximity and workers make sure their leashes aren’t too close. But she adds they are predators.