Unbelievable moment a golden eagle is pictured swooping on a DEER and trying to fly off with it in its talons ‘in first ever photographed case of its kind’
Swoop: This golden eagle soars in and sinks its claws into a Sika deer
Dig in: The powerful bird starts to lift the panicked animal from the ground
Lift-off: The eagle spreads its wings before lifting the deer from the groundAlthough the golden eagle is notorious for its bold hunts, and have been caught attacking coyote and even a young bear, experts believe this is the first documented attack on a deer.
The three frame show just two seconds of action, and were taken accidentally by scientists researching the endangered Siberian tiger in 2011.
Impact: In this shot the eagle makes contact with the deer
Drag: The bird can then be seen digging its claws in and starting to drag its prey away
Endgame: The eagle then drags the deer out of shot to make its meal
Messy end: The remains of the deer were found two weeks after the attack, near where the shots had been taken’It was only after we got back to camp that I checked the images from the camera and pieced everything together. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
I’ve been assessing deer causes of death in Russia for 18 years, this is the first time I’ve seen anything like this.’
Dr Jonathan Slaght, from the Wildlife Conservation Society – which works with the Zoological Soceity – said: ‘The scientific literature is full of references to golden eagle attacks on different animals from around the world, from things as small as rabbits.
‘Their regular prey – to coyote and deer, and even one record in 2004 of an eagle taking a brown bear cub.’
‘In this case I think Linda just got really lucky and was able to document a very rare, opportunistic predation event.’
Golden eagles are one of the most widespread birds of prey in the world, and live in areas of Europe, Asia and North America.
They are renowned hunters, capable of killing prey much larger than themselves with their deadly talons. The birds weigh 12lbs, have an 8ft wingspan and can fly at speeds in excess of 100mph.
Sika deer can grow to weigh more than 300lbs, but the victim of the pictured attack was not fully-grown.