This is the astonishing moment a golden eagle thrusts its talons into a mountain goat’s neck before lifting the flailing animal in their air and dropping it to its death in the Italian Alps.
Despite the adult chamois goat weighing five times more than the golden eagle, extraordinary footage shows the predator tackling the unsuspecting animal to the ground from above.
The ‘brutal’ killing of the mountain goat, a phenomenon which has never been filmed before according to the BBC, will feature in Sunday’s episode of Sir David Attenborough’s Frozen Planet II series.
The ‘brutal’ killing of the mountain goat (seen before the attack), a phenomenon which has never been filmed before according to the BBC , will feature in Sunday’s episode of Sir David Attenborough’s Frozen Planet II series
This is the astonishing moment a golden eagle thrusts its talons into a mountain goat’s neck before lifting the flailing animal in their air and dropping it to its death in the Italian Alps
But video shows the golden eagle sinking its talons into the neck of an adult chamois goat and dragging it along the rocks by a cliff edge
Despite the adult chamois goat weighing five times more than the golden eagle, extraordinary footage shows the predator tackling the unsuspecting animal to the ground from above
The episode, called Frozen Peaks, shows footage of a mating pair of eagles plucking baby chamois goats from the cliffs in the Italian cliffs and dropping them to their deaths before eating their remains.
But as the summer ended, much to the surprise of the film crew, a golden eagle was seen attacking an adult chamois goats in footage shared on BBC Breakfast this morning.
Usually, golden eagles attack baby chamois goats and other medium-sized mammals such as rabbits, hares and grouse.
But video shows the golden eagle sinking its talons into the neck of an adult chamois goat and dragging it along the rocks by a cliff edge.
The predator then manages to drag the goat into the air before dropping it mid-air, leaving the animal to plunge to its death.
The predator then manages to drag the goat into the air before dropping it mid-air, leaving the animal to plunge to its death
Footage shows the golden eagle managing to fly whilst carrying the goat
The golden eagle is then seen letting go of the mountain goat as it falls down the cliff edge
The mountain goat is seen falling to its death after the eagle dropped it from a height
Usually, golden eagles attack baby chamois goats and other medium-sized mammals such as rabbits, hares and grouse (file image of chamois goat)
The two eagles were then seen feasting on the carcass of the mountain goat.
BBC producer Alex Lanchester said the Frozen Planet team could not believe what they had witnessed.
Mr Lanchester told The Express: ‘It’s never been filmed before. We knew they went for the calves in the spring – but not the adults.
‘It’s extraordinary behaviour. These goats weigh [five] times the weight of the eagle so it’s incredibly heavy.
‘They are huge and the way that the eagles kill them is they pick them up and drop them off the cliff. It’s very brutal. They hunt in pairs.’