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’
It is a rare – and brutal – example of nature at work.
A powerful golden eagle swoops on an unsuspecting Sika deer, digs in its claws in and tries to drag its prey away.
These images, captured by zoologists in a nature reserve the remote Lazovsky region of southeast Russia, show a particularly audacious attack which sees the eagle fell an animal several times its own size.
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 ground
Although 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.
The pictures, and a description of the event, were published in this month’s Journal of Raptor Research.
Linda Kerley, of the Zoological Society of London, found the shots during a routine equipment check.
After discovering the astonishing photograph, Ms Kerley and her colleagues found a carcass which they believed to be that of the unfortunate deer just yards away.
She said: ‘It’s the first time I’ve seen anything like it. It’s rare for golden eagles to snatch up deer.
‘I saw the deer carcass first as I approached the trap on a routine check to switch out memory cards and change batteries, but something felt wrong about it.
‘There were no large carnivore tracks in the snow, and it looked like the deer had been running and then just stopped and died.
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
‘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.
Messy end: The remains of the deer were found two weeks after the attack, near where the shots had been taken