Watching eagles with my grandpa at my aunt and uncle’s river house is one of those memories I always find myself looking back on and wishing I could do one more time.
There’s just something so majestic about watching them soar through the sky but don’t let their looks deceive you; they’re every bit as ferocious as they are beautiful.
Whether it’s swooping from the air to snag fish, ripping geese from the water, or attacking coyotes, there’s no shortage of proof out there that eagles are truly one of the most impressive birds on the planet.
While bald eagles tend to get most of the praise, golden eagles are every bit as incredible, being one of the largest, fastest, and most nimble flying raptors in North America with wingspans over 6 feet, a top speed of 120 miles per hour, and a home range of up to 77 square miles.
A fact that really interested me, though, was their parental skills.
Both mother and father birds both take turns defending the nest, incubating the eggs, hunting for food, and feeding the chicks, and the couples stay together for life, something that’s very rare in nature.
Weighing around 6-15 pounds, it only makes sense that their flight power would be pretty great, but I wasn’t expecting it to be as high as we can see in this video.
Unfortunately, there’s not many details available for where it took place or what the context was, but this golden eagle is perched near a cliffside with a fox in its clutches. Suddenly, the eagle powers into the air, bringing the fox along for the ride, which will almost certainly end in death for the poor Vulpes.
Given fox weigh in the neighborhood of 7 to 15 pounds, we see that eagles are capable of carrying their bodyweight or more through the sky, which truly blows my mind.
Put some respect on the golden eagle’s name.
