World's Most Amazing 'Big Game' Hunter.

[mortensen]

(I did this post some time ago and it is so amazing I'll put it in again, as this is one dude who will never go hungry).

I'm sure when were thinking of predators were most likely thinking of coyote, wolf, and mountain lion. Here's another predator who is probably the most proficient hunter of them all, the 'Golden Eagle' found in the Southwest and in mountain areas. The Golden Eagle can have a wing span between 7 to 8 feet. He will weigh between 14 to 16 pounds. But here's the real kicker... he can carry (in flight) 3 times his own weight. So it's possible that he can carry close to 50 pounds.

The Golden Eagle preys on the yearlings in the Southwest mountain areas for whitetail deer, goat, and sheep. The Golden Eagle is a pretty smart dude, if he finds a mature sheep or goat in a disadvantaged position high on a mountain side or cliff type area, he can easily knock this animal off letting it fall to it's death upon hitting the ground.

The Golden Eagle is only slightly larger than the American Bald Eagle. The main difference is that the Golden Eagle is a much more aggressive bird with a nasty disposition and fearless. The Southwest Indians were always weary of this bird as it could come down and pick up small children if they were not attended. I've seen them in Arizona when hunting Pronghorn and in the southeastern part of the Mojave Desert. In my area their favorite would be the desert coyote which weigh between 30 to 35 pounds.

This is about a seven minute video of some very amazing footage. This video was taped in the high mountains of Mexico, and narrated in Spanish.

When Golden Eagles Attack:

When Golden Eagles Attack: Director Decalz - prehensal (vodpod) | Lockerz

[COEngineer]

The Golden Eagle is impressive...so no need to exaggerate. They don't pick up children or anything that weighs more than a few pounds, at least not for anything more than a few seconds. As you can see in the videos, they can kill larger animals (although I am pretty sure that most of the wolves and coyotes were attacked by trained eagles - you can see the strings tied to their legs) and/or drag them off of a cliff, but they can't fly away with them. I am also fairly certain that that video is a conglomeration of several different videos that were posted on Youtube, not filmed altogether.

[mortensen]

Hello COEngineer and thank you for your comments.

I have a few questions regarding this video also. However, to the best of my knowledge the video of the the eagle knocking the goat off the side of a mountain or cliff are authentic. I question some of the editing regarding the inflight of the goat to the eagles nest however.

There should be suffecient evidence on the internet to support the theory that Golden Eagles can and do attack coyote and even wolf, especially after the wolf or coyote has made a kill.

There is also a youtube video whereby a Golden Eagle attacked a small child (baby) and flew with it for a short distance and dropped the child. If the parents and others were't around the eagle would have (most likely) start eating this child (alive).

I have a Native American Guide I use when hunting Antelope in Arizona. He is from the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. He is the one who told be that the tribes are very weary of the Golden Eagle being seen in the vicinity of small children and evidently there concern was based on an incident in their history and I would never question his integrity or honesty.

I found it interesting this Golden Eagle is found in many more states, not just the southwest

To illustrate just how aggressive and brazen this bird can be and eating their prey while it is still alive is astonishing. If your wondering why the Antelope dosen't run or do something to get away, this poor Antelope is in total shock, and shock effects people or animals differently, as in this case it made the Antelope inmobile to move.

Eagle Kills Antelope (Wyoming)

Edited January 5, 2013 by mortensen

[mortensen]

The Golden Eagle is impressive...so no need to exaggerate. They don't pick up children or anything that weighs more than a few pounds, at least not for anything more than a few seconds. As you can see in the videos, they can kill larger animals (although I am pretty sure that most of the wolves and coyotes were attacked by trained eagles - you can see the strings tied to their legs) and/or drag them off of a cliff, but they can't fly away with them. I am also fairly certain that that video is a conglomeration of several different videos that were posted on Youtube, not filmed altogether.

I can find no reference or evidence of Golden Eagles being trained for hunting. Falcon's, yes. This video is not of the best quality, however, there is no visual appearance of any string as of the nature you described attached to their talons.

[stevebeilgard]

in 1977 my wife and i watched 2 eagles attack an antelope, and within an hour it was dead. i know this happens in the wild, albeit rare.

[COEngineer]

mortensen, the eagle carrying the baby was a high school film class project. Google it. If you can't see the strings, you can't see them, but they are there. Also, in several of the wolf/coyote scenes, you can see a person running in at the end (I presume to finish the kill before the bird gets hurt).

[wtnhunt]

Been some pretty spectacular clips/photos of a fox and an eagle, never seen one of yotes and eagles and sorry I don't have time to look at any links right now. A fox is less than half of the weight of a yote and a fraction of what a wolf would weigh. Also been some clips in spanish of eagles knocking goats or sheep off their feet on cliffs sending them to their death where they presumably later returned to fetch their meal. Don't know about the birds ability to pick up and carry 50 lbs much less a live 50 lb animal that might be fighting back.