I spend a lot of time on the internet… it’s kind of my job. I see A LOT of crazy stuff, probably too much for my own mental well-being, but these giant eagles might be the craziest things in the entire animal kingdom.
A while back, we shared a video of one trying to snag an eight year old child in Kyrgyzstan, and while terrifying, it wasn’t quite able to lift the child off the ground and fly away. She was unharmed, but nevertheless… head on a swivel in golden eagle country.
And while they usually prey on smaller mammals, they’ll think nothing of attacking a wild boar, a wolf, or a bear, and sometimes… even people.
But perhaps their craziest method of hunting… mountain goats.
Adult golden eagles can grow to more than 3.5 feet long from beak to tail, with wingspans of up to 8 feet. The birds weigh between 7 and 12 pounds on average – about the same size as a newborn lamb. With a grip strength of about 750 pounds per square inch, that’s stronger than the jaws of a lion.
Flying thousands of feet in the air, with vision that can see for miles… these flying raptors are truly savage killers. But when it comes to mountain goats, these eagles will dig their talons into the back, and with that insane grip strength, drag the mountain goat off a cliff and let gravity do the rest.
Even if they can just do enough to make the goat lose its footing, at that height… it’s game over.
It’s genius and efficient.
Deer Hunting With Eagles
I see your rifle hunt, I see your bow hunt, and I raise you…
Hunting deer with an eagle.
We all know about running dogs while hunting feral hogs (or bears for the folks that do that), but never in my life have I seen an eagle, one of the world’s most pristine birds, be used for deer hunting.
A video has gone viral of a hunter releasing an eagle, as the deer sprints off in the other direction. Sure enough, the eagle tracks down the deer, taking down its prey, and that’s ballgame.
This type of hunting is practiced in parts of Europe, particularly in Hungary, as well as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia. A few videos have surfaced over the years of this practice, but have been few and far between.
It’s WILD…
Golden Eagle Makes Flying Off With A Fox Look Way Too Easy
A simple but awe inspiring video.
Golden eagles just might be the most badass bird on the planet. Even larger than bald eagles, they’re the largest bird of prey in North America and one of the biggest on the planet.
Golden eagles are such strong predators that videos of the birds snatching children, hunting wild boars, and dragging goats off cliffs have all generated buzz online.
Earlier this spring, the state of Wyoming even recently approved plans to relocate a group of the birds that have been eating sheep on ranches.
Despite being voracious hunters, golden eagles are also fantastic parents.
Mother and father birds both take turns defending the nest, incubating the eggs, hunting for food, and feeding the chicks. Golden eagles also build some of the biggest nests in the bird world, often times 5-6 feet wide and 2 feet tall.
The largest golden eagle nest on record was an astonishing 20 feet tall and 8.5 feet wide.
The raw power and sheer size of the species is on full display.
The big bird just grabs that fox, holds onto it tight, and flies off into the mountain mist, most likely to go feed a big nest full of some baby eagles.
Nature, man… it’s WILD.
