In Russia, Eagle Kills YOU -- especially if you're a deer.

[CalMeacham]

Remote cameras intended to monitor Siberian tigers in Russia instead caught a golden eagle’s fatal attack on a deer, snapping three photos as the massive bird dug its talons into the distressed animal’s back.

London’s Zoological Society, which distributed the pictures to journalists, said the sequence showed a rare but not unheard of attack by a golden eagle. The society’s Linda Kerley said she first realized something was up when she approached the wildlife-monitoring device — also called a camera trap — and found a mangled deer carcass nearby.
Something felt wrong about it," she said in a statement accompanying the photographs. "There were no large carnivore tracks in the snow, and it looked like the deer had been running and then just stopped and died.

“It was only after we got back to camp that I checked the images from the camera and pieced everything together,” she said. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”

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The zoological society said the photos were shot in the Lazovsky State Nature Reserve in the Primorye region of Russia’s Far East on Dec. 8, 2011.

http://news.yahoo.com/cameras-capture-eagle-killing-deer-russia-144336036.html

[Capt_Kirk]

Speechless, thank you Cal that was awesome

[lieu]

More like a Balled Eagle… great big ones. That was amazing.

[running_coach]

@lieu

More like a Balled Eagle… great big ones. That was amazing.

And somewhere nearby lurked a Ghurka, awaiting the return of his hunting partner.

That was jaw-dropping.

[Tamerlane]

I’ll direct everyone to the wiki on GE predation on ungulates for interesting tidbits. Note in particular - As previously described, the “low flight with sustained grip attack” is the main method of predation used on ungulates and can take anywhere from a few seconds to at least 15 minutes to kill the prey. Straight out of that photo.

ETA: Kind of humbling to think you might be at the extreme outlier end of appropriate prey size for a desperate eagle :eek:.

[mhendo]

Great stuff.

I’ll raise you, a video of a jaguar attack on a caiman.

[terentii]

Who says dinosaurs are extinct?!? :dubious: :eek:

[Half_Man_Half_Wit]

I killed a deer last night, but that was by car. That eagle has me beat by miles…:eek:

[JKilez]

@lieu

More like a Balled Eagle… great big ones. That was amazing.

Damn. Golden eagles in Russia take down prey 10 times their size, while bald eagles in America cry like giggling school girls. Thanks Obama.

[Dendarii_Dame]

I read a short story called “The Erne from the Coast” by T. O. Beachcroft, in which an eagle kills a sheep (maybe a lamb). It’s a great story, but I wondered if any eagle was really big enough to do that. (The author has a character describe the eagle as being the largest he’s ever seen.)

[StGermain]

Bald eagle drops fawn on power lines in Missouri.

Golden eagle throws goats off cliff because they’re too big to kill.

StG

[OtisCampbellWasRight]

@mhendo

Great stuff.

I’ll raise you, a video of a jaguar attack on a caiman.

That jaguar must have been really, really hungry! :eek:

I’ll think about this video the next time I go down to the ol’ swimmin’ hole.

[G0sp3l]

@mhendo

Great stuff.

I’ll raise you, a video of a jaguar attack on a caiman.

Ambush predator, my ass! A CAT took on a GATOR in WATER? And Won? :eek:

[Half_Man_Half_Wit]

@StGermain

Bald eagle drops fawn on power lines in Missouri.

Probably wanted his dinner nice and crispy…

[terentii]

Does this mean the mystery of the mutilated livestock has been solved?!?

Colorado Cattle Mutilation

The “no footprints in the snow” should have been a dead giveaway. :rolleyes:

[Boulter_s_Canary]

@Dendarii_Dame

I read a short story called “The Erne from the Coast” by T. O. Beachcroft, in which an eagle kills a sheep (maybe a lamb). It’s a great story, but I wondered if any eagle was really big enough to do that. (The author has a character describe the eagle as being the largest he’s ever seen.)

According to this clip from Ireland they don’t. Whether they can or not is another matter, but white-tailed sea eagles (which are the eagles most often called Ernes) prefer fish (bald eagles are fish-eaters, too).

[Clothahump]

How about lion vs. two cheetahs?

[toofs]

How aboutlion vs. tiger?