Two Saturdays ago, a couple of Las Catalinas residents found themselves unexpectedly witnessing what felt like a scene straight out of a nature documentary.
While running through the trail system as part of their training for XTERRA, something lying across the trail made them stop in their tracks. At first, they thought it was a dead boa. A few seconds later, however, the snake began to move and coil, and they realized they had arrived in the middle of something very different: the boa was feeding on an iguana.
Wrapped around its prey, the boa slowly continued the process while the runners watched from a distance. It was certainly not an everyday trail sighting, and perhaps not a scene for everyone, but it offered an unusually close look at one of the most fundamental parts of life in the wild.
At one point, the shape of the iguana could still be seen beneath the boa’s body, creating an image that brought to mind the famous drawing from The Little Prince, in which what appears to be a hat is actually a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. This time, however, there was no need for imagination.
After observing for a while and sharing a few photos and videos, the runners continued back toward Town, leaving the animals and the surrounding landscape undisturbed.
A run through the trails can bring ocean views, changing skies, birds, monkeys, and plenty of beautiful scenery, but every so often it also offers a glimpse into the parts of nature that usually happen beyond our sight. Predators hunt, prey becomes part of another animal’s survival, and countless cycles continue whether or not anyone is there to witness them.
This particular run became a reminder that the natural landscape around us is never truly still. Life is constantly unfolding within it, sometimes quietly and sometimes in ways dramatic enough to stop us in our tracks.