losing its fear of humans
has enabled one animal to spread into
cities everywhere
and in huge numbers
pigeons are by far the most successful
urban
bird
here in albany in the south of france
the pigeons come to the river to bathe
they need to preen their flight feathers
clean off the city dust
and cool themselves down
but death lies in weight
a predator that has taken advantage of
the very thing that has led to the
pigeon’s success
their lack of fear
as the pigeons bathe oil from their
plumage flows downstream
and is detected
a monstrous wells catfish
introduced here just 40 years ago
they have proliferated
virtually exterminated the local fish
stocks
and they’ve now developed a taste for
pigeon
their eyesight is poor so they use their
barbels to sense the movements of their
victims
this is a radical new hunting strategy
for what is normally a bottom dwelling
fish
[Music]
[Applause]
after a thousand years of living in this
city
pigeons are now having to learn to avoid
a
fish
[Music]
