Burlington man's bird-battle photo viewed as symbolic of Canada-U.S. tariff war
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A Burlington photographer’s viral photos have captured a bird’s eye view of the tensions swirling between Canada and the U.S.
Photographer Mervyn Segueira recently landed shots of a sickly Canada goose doing battle with a bald eagle on a bay in the Ontario city.
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The symbolism is as thick as maple syrup. Some are calling the image a metaphor for the tariff fight between the countries, who share a border.
The Canada goose is emblematic of Canadian wildlife while the bald eagle is the national symbol of the U.S. and appears on its seal.
“I know people are comparing this to what’s going on between Canada and the US,” the 74-year-old Sequeira told the New York Post. “I have no control over what others see in my photographs. I’m just trying to document what I see in the wild as best as I can, as an amateur, it’s what I do.
“But it’s inevitable that people will interpret what they’re seeing, given the current state of the world.”
Sequeira said the Feb. 23 fight started when the bald eagle descended on the goose, which he said might have been suffering from the bird flu.
“The goose appeared to be sick to me because it was all alone, which is not common for these birds,” he told the Post. “It remained on the ground, so something must have been wrong with it.”
The bald eagle tried to tear the goose to shreds, but the goose didn’t surrender.
“The bald eagle made several assaults at the goose, attacking at least four times to try and take it out,” Sequeira said. “But the goose fought back every time.”
He said it “desperately defended” itself until the bald eagle for whatever reason abandoned the fight after about 20 minutes and flew way, Sequiera wrote on Instagram, per the Post.
The photographer said he viewed his photos as just being a demonstration of “how nature works,” but he understands the symbolism.
“But we’re living in a slightly polarized world just now, so some people looked at it differently,” he told the Canadian press.
Earlier this week, Trump announced new 25% tariffs on most Canadian goods.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded by placing retaliatory tariffs on about $30 billion worth of American goods.
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