One predator's seafood lunch was a Maryland couple's beloved pets.
A great blue heron feasted on goldfish that were not on the menu, according to the Frederick News Post, and now a couple in Frederick is coping with the loss of 16 goldfish and a koi.
They were found dead a few feet from their backyard fishing ponds on Jan. 12.
"I wasn't sure how the fish got from the frozen-over pond to the ground," Nancy Twigg told the paper.
After closely investigating the scene, Twigg found some claw tracks in the snow near the lower pond, but both of the couple's ponds are essentially frozen over.
The couple never expected any harm to come to the hibernating fish and wish they had been more careful.
"It's the circle of life," she said in regard to the bird.
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She and husband Byron Hawkins love nature and don't want any harm to come to the heron.
"We respect the bird," she said.
They have now placed a mesh screen over the pond to protect the last six of their fish and pray against prey.
