Coot & Koi

A coot swims over a school of koi.  It was interesting to me to watch the way the two different animals moved.  The coot swims with great purpose, as if it’s trying to get somewhere.  Then it will abruptly do a 180 and swim with great purpose in the opposite direction from which it just came.  The koi, on the other hand, seemed to lazily mill about with no purpose whatsoever, each fish moving in a different direction.  I found I could get close to them as long as my shadow didn’t hang over the bank of the pond.  As soon as they could make out my shape, they scattered and dove.

The koi didn’t seem bothered by the coots at all.  Perhaps they know that they’re too big for a coot to eat, or perhaps they know that coots are primarily vegetarians.  In any case, the coot seemed to swim so close to the koi that it was a wonder they didn’t get kicked.