MOST CRUEL Hunting Moments of Eagles Pet Spot
Transcript
00:00 Eagles are one of the largest birds and among the most ferocious predators in the wild.
00:13 These apex predators rank at the top of the food chain, proving that even birds can sometimes
00:19 be dangerous killers.
00:21 But have you ever wondered why these birds happen to symbolize courage, power and freedom?
00:27 What do they do to achieve this?
00:29 Is a bird really capable of hunting down mammals twice its size?
00:33 Stick around to find out as we take a look at the most cruel hunting moments of hungry
00:39 eagles.
00:40 So, without further ado, let's begin.
00:50 Perhaps the most notable as well as the deadliest feature an eagle has is its extremely sharp
00:56 talons.
00:57 Combined with a beak that can rip apart flesh like a hot knife going through butter, it's
01:02 safe to say that anything unlucky enough to come in contact with these daggers masquerading
01:08 as talons is sure to regret it.
01:10 Now you might already be aware of this, but did you know that an eagle's talons are
01:15 made out of keratin?
01:17 Yep, the same thing your hair and nails are made out of.
01:21 So even if some unfortunate turn of events lead to an eagle's talons being torn or
01:26 broken off, they can simply regrow them.
01:29 But just because they can grow them back doesn't mean that they enjoy the process, as it's
01:35 known to be a very painful and crippling process, according to scientists.
01:40 Anyway, moving on to the clip, we can see a poor goat that has unfortunately become
01:45 separated from the herd, and eagles, being the opportunistic hunters that they are, won't
01:51 let such a prime opportunity go to waste.
01:54 The eagle swoops down on the unsuspecting goat with its talons ready to rip and tear.
02:00 It grabs onto the goat, lifting it up and then throwing it back to the ground soon after.
02:07 Unfortunately for the goat, its bones aren't hollow like a cat's and it ends up dying
02:12 on impact due to the severe height it fell from.
02:15 What a way to go!
02:18 Despite eagles being opportunistic hunters and capable of taking out prey as much as
02:22 twice their size, they usually prefer hunting fish.
02:27 Yup, an eagle's diet consists primarily of fish.
02:31 If we were to take a closer look at an eagle's beak, we can see that its shape is like that
02:36 of a pirate's hook.
02:38 This gives eagles the ability to hook fish quite efficiently.
02:43 While not all eagles hunt fish as their only source of food, the Steller's sea eagle
02:48 and the African sea eagle's diet consists of primarily fish and not much more.
02:55 But if we were to look at the other side, in the part of the world where fish aren't
02:59 readily available, the eagles there primarily hunt mammal carrion.
03:04 Taking a look at the clip, three baby warthogs can be seen walking together.
03:09 Being small and relatively easy to hunt, the baby warthogs are a perfect target for the
03:14 eagle and it rushes down and pins one to the ground.
03:18 After brutally driving its claws into the warthog's flesh, the eagle scans the surroundings
03:24 for any potential threats.
03:26 Sensing danger, the eagle quickly disengages and waits for the threat to pass, after which
03:31 it flies back down and proceeds to take its prey away.
03:36 An interesting little fact about eagles that I'm sure will surprise you is that eagles
03:40 are, much like dogs, used by hunters as hunting partners.
03:45 Yup, these birds of prey can be tamed and even used to hunt other animals.
03:51 But the process isn't easy, as you'll have to undergo 8 years of training in order
03:56 to be a master falconer.
03:58 And even once you've finished your training and tamed an eagle, you'll still never be
04:02 able to be at ease around it, as we can be around pets like cats and dogs.
04:07 This is due to the fact that eagles do not enjoy handling and will never be considered
04:12 a domesticated animal, and the only species of eagle that can be properly trained is the
04:18 golden eagle.
04:19 So if you were thinking of taming a bald eagle, tough luck, as bald eagles can't be tamed,
04:25 much less domesticated.
04:27 They're mostly suited to being poster boys for the freedom lovers.
04:31 Anyway, moving on to the next clip, we see a real-world demonstration of eagles hunting
04:37 alongside human hunters as partners.
04:40 The two eagles help pin a wolf to the ground and continue to poke the wolf again and again,
04:46 preventing it from escaping as well as incapacitating it till the hunters get there.
04:52 Even after the hunters arrive and try to separate the eagles from their prey, the eagle's
04:57 sharp-hooked talons refuse to give up.
05:00 It truly must be hell for the wolf.
05:03 While the strongest species of eagles can hunt and lift prey twice their size, crown
05:09 eagles aren't quite as strong as their larger and stronger mountain cousins.
05:15 Crown eagles are quite small in comparison and simply cannot perform feats like that.
05:22 But despite the smaller size, crown eagles still share the same eagle mind that their
05:27 larger cousins have.
05:29 This ends up with crown eagles going after and hunting prey they can't quite carry
05:34 away with them easily.
05:36 And if they are successful in their hunts, it really doesn't matter as much if they
05:40 can't take their prey with them, which is what we can see in the video.
05:45 Taking place in the Isamangalizo Wetland Park, a crown eagle has successfully managed to
05:51 hunt and take down a Simango monkey native to the park.
05:56 But while it may have successfully killed it, the eagle can be seen clenching the lifeless
06:01 body of the monkey and desperately trying to fly away with it.
06:05 And as we can see in the video, the monkey is simply too large and heavy for the eagle
06:10 to carry away and it ends up just carrying it to the side of the road.
06:15 Well, no one said that you need high intellect to be an apex predator, but it sure would
06:20 have helped the eagle here.
06:22 Unlike most predators that mostly prefer to hunt when they're hungry and quite often
06:27 leave their prey unharmed when they're full, eagles have been observed to hunt for sport
06:32 quite often.
06:34 Crown eagles, the ones that are mostly used by falconers as hunting partners, are the
06:39 eagles that most often hunt for sport.
06:42 These eagles are known to swoop down and kill their prey and then leave their corpses without
06:48 even taking a single bite out of them.
06:50 Why they do this is still up for debate as there hasn't been any conclusive studies
06:55 performed on this phenomenon.
06:58 But we do have a clip we can show you of this happening.
07:02 A bald eagle can be seen sitting atop a tree scanning for prey.
07:07 It spots some ducks and decides to prey on them.
07:10 Now I don't need to tell you guys, but a duck against an eagle is like a paper plane
07:15 against a storm.
07:16 And the hunt ends in exactly the way you thought it would end, with the eagle slamming into
07:21 the duck and instantly killing it near the water.
07:25 After killing the poor duck, the eagle doesn't even bother to take it with it and leaves
07:30 its lifeless corpse in the water.
07:32 It's clear that this was a hunt for sport rather than necessity.
07:37 While most of the clips we've seen in this video are of eagles hunting prey on the ground,
07:43 it should be noted that eagles aren't just excellent hunters when their prey is on the
07:48 ground.
07:49 Due to their large wingspan, eagles can accelerate and decelerate extremely quickly and owing
07:55 to the shape of their wings, they can also turn at a moment's notice.
08:00 This gives an eagle quite an edge when hunting airborne prey.
08:04 The best way to describe eagles chasing airborne prey is like a fighter jet against a passenger
08:09 aircraft.
08:10 The airliner would be more like a stationary duck compared to the jet.
08:15 We can see an airborne hunt in the next clip of the video.
08:19 A seagull is seen flying over a golf course with an eagle in chase.
08:25 Despite the seagull being smaller and hence theoretically better at accelerating and turning,
08:30 it's still no match for the evolutionary advantages the eagle possesses and the eagle
08:35 swiftly manages to grab the seagull right out of the air and bring it to the ground.
08:41 The poor seagull struggles a bit but the sharp hooked talons of the eagle quickly end up
08:47 bleeding the gull dry.
08:49 Kill secured, the eagle flies away, truly the king of the skies.
08:54 Did you know that most if not all bald eagles tend to be quite kleptoparasitic?
09:00 Don't bother pausing the video and googling what the word means, we've got it covered.
09:05 Kleptoparasitic comes from the word kleptomaniac, which means having the tendency or impulse
09:12 to steal and the word parasite, which I'm sure all of you are aware of.
09:17 While eagles don't generally barge in their neighbors' nests to steal valuable belongings,
09:23 eagles are however known to supplement their food intake with food procured by other birds.
09:30 This habit intensifies when food is scarce.
09:34 While scanning their surroundings for potential prey, eagles also scan for what other birds
09:39 are doing.
09:40 If a bird catches any type of food, a bald eagle is likely to chase the bird until it
09:45 lets go of its food to let the eagle have it.
09:48 This doesn't just happen to other birds either, as larger older bald eagles will chase
09:53 juvenile eagles into giving up their prey as well.
09:57 Guess these birds aren't as noble as some people think they are.
10:01 While eagles hunt and chase other birds into giving them their prey, there's still nothing
10:07 compared to the true parasites of the bird kingdom, the vultures.
10:12 At the start of the clip, we can see the vultures swooping down towards a golden eagle that
10:17 has just finished its hunt.
10:19 The two birds of prey get into a rough battle, with the larger and more ferocious vulture
10:25 coming out as the victor.
10:27 Survival of the fittest, it seems.
10:29 While most land predators prefer a packed lifestyle, where there's a whole hierarchy
10:34 between different members of the group, eagles on the other hand are quite the nomadic hunters.
10:41 In the beginning, baby eagles spend their early years of life being taken care of by
10:45 their parents, but as soon as they're able to catch their own food, the young eagles
10:50 tend to venture out away from their nest and begin creating their own nest.
10:55 While this is true for most eagles, bald eagles tend to take the nomadic lifestyle a bit further,
11:01 as they're known to move their nests quite a bit and rarely stick to one place unless
11:07 necessary, like during winters.
11:10 While eagles aren't known to hold a territory as land animals do for long, and aren't
11:15 known to mark their territory in any way, still, they don't like trespassers to come
11:20 near their nests.
11:21 Eagles tend to attack any trespassers with extreme prejudice, which is what we can see
11:28 in the clip.
11:29 A bear can be seen wandering around, but unknown to the bear, it was wandering into the territory
11:35 of a nearby bald eagle perching in the area.
11:38 The oblivious bear continues to climb up the hill, unaware that it's now being stalked
11:43 by a bald eagle.
11:45 As soon as the bear stops for a moment, the eagle, being the opportunistic hunter that
11:49 it is, swoops down onto the bear and brutally rips at the bear's eyes.
11:55 Though a mere hit and run attack, it'll serve its purpose to drive away the bear.
12:00 I suppose there's a reason the bald eagle is so associated with freedom.
12:05 These big birds of prey truly are fearless.
12:08 We keep saying that eagles are impressively deadly hunters due to the fact that they can
12:13 hunt and carry prey twice as large as them.
12:17 While this might seem like an exaggeration of a hyperbole, it's quite true.
12:22 Bald and golden eagles are often known to hunt after mammals roughly twice their own size.
12:28 During the hunt, the eagles largely rely on hit and run tactics, and with talons as sharp
12:33 as theirs, these tactics are extremely effective at slowly whittling down their prey and incapacitating
12:41 them.
12:42 After they successfully manage to kill their prey, the eagles make use of their large wingspan,
12:47 which gives them the necessary lift required to carry not only themselves, but large prey
12:53 as well, which can be demonstrated in the next clip in our video.
12:58 A golden eagle can be seen perching on top of its recently hunted prey.
13:03 It seems to wait for the perfect wind conditions, and when the wind is at its back, it takes
13:08 to the sky, carrying the fox with it.
13:11 We can see that the fox is quite large compared to the eagle, but despite the size difference
13:17 and the initial hiccup during the flight, the eagle manages to carry it away perfectly.
13:22 While most birds have some distinct differences, which allows observers to differentiate between
13:27 a male and female, eagles, on the other hand, don't have such obvious differences.
13:33 Take the ring-necked parrots, for example.
13:36 The males of the species have the titular red ring around their necks, whereas the females
13:41 don't possess the ring.
13:43 Or take ospreys, for example.
13:46 The main useful visual clue is the bib or necklace marking on the osprey's chest.
13:52 Adult females tend to have quite pronounced brown necklaces, while adult males have a
13:57 lighter marking, sometimes fading to virtually nothing.
14:00 Eagles, on the other hand, are very hard to differentiate feature-wise, but there is a
14:06 big and easy to spot difference between the male and the female of the species, and that
14:11 is the size.
14:13 Female eagles tend to be much larger than their male counterparts and are also quite
14:18 stocky and wide in their appearance.
14:21 This allows us to easily differentiate between the two, but we only hope that you have taken
14:26 proper safety measures before coming so close to eagles that you can differentiate their
14:31 size.
14:32 Moving on to the clip, an eagle can be seen hunting a fish near a snowy lake.
14:37 The eagle first thinks about lifting the fish away, but later decides to eat the fish right
14:42 there.
14:43 It's joined by a friend later on, and the two of them share their meal.
14:47 And look, even a crow has decided to join in on the feast, though the eagles don't
14:52 seem to be quite predisposed towards it and don't seem too inclined to share their prey.
14:57 Heck, the birds don't even want to share it with other eagles, as they can be seen
15:01 attacking each other in hopes of getting the fish all to itself.
15:05 Herons are quite the interesting birds.
15:07 Most of you may not know this, but just like eagles, herons are also carnivorous birds
15:12 of prey, meaning that they eat other animals.
15:16 In fact, just like eagles, herons primarily feast on fish as well.
15:21 With most of the heron species having fish as their primary diet.
15:26 But that's not the only reason we consider herons to be fascinating.
15:29 No, the actual reason is quite peculiar.
15:33 We've all heard about the more prey-like fauna preferring to build their nests away
15:39 from predators.
15:41 But have you ever seen it happen the other way around?
15:44 While we cannot understand why they would do such a thing, research on the southwest
15:49 coast of British Columbia shows that herons are deliberately seeking out nesting pairs
15:55 of eagles and building right next to them.
15:58 Scientists assume it to be something like a mafia protection system, as the bald eagles,
16:03 being the territorial birds that they are, will chase off other possible threats to their
16:08 nests.
16:09 And while the heron colony pair may lose some young to the eagles they nest close to, the
16:14 carnage will be far greater without their protection.
16:18 Unfortunately, herons are not as strong as eagles, and the herons inevitably end up losing
16:24 quite a bit because of their nesting behaviors.
16:27 In the clip, an eagle can be seen messing about in the heron's nest.
16:31 The heron naturally tries to drive the eagle away, and the two of them end up fighting.
16:37 What happens next can only be described as a scene from the movies, as the eagle practically
16:42 drowns the heron in the water.
16:44 After killing its prey in the most brutal way imaginable, the eagle proceeds to eat
16:48 the heron.
16:49 If that doesn't make you think nature's brutal, I don't know what will.
16:54 Have you ever heard of snake eagles?
16:56 While the name may make you think of some abomination that's a hybrid between a snake
17:00 and an eagle, in reality, they're quite the interesting breed of eagles.
17:05 While snakes are considered to be quite the fearsome predators, these big birds of prey
17:11 are a snake's worst nightmare.
17:14 The primary diet of a snake eagle consists of, well, snakes, and they are especially
17:20 adept at hunting them.
17:22 They swoop down on unsuspecting serpents and grab onto them with their talons that have
17:29 evolved to be better at gripping than hooking.
17:32 If hunting snakes wasn't mental enough, snake eagles often eat serpents by swallowing
17:37 the snake entirely headfirst.
17:40 These mental birds of prey are primarily found in Africa, although one ranges as far as Europe
17:48 and India.
17:49 Moving on to the clip, an eagle can be seen brutally ripping apart a snake.
17:54 The scene appears to be of a recently concluded hunt, and the eagle appears to have chosen
18:00 to dive right into the eating part of the hunt, not even bothering to kill the snake
18:05 before devouring it.
18:07 As I said, snake eagles are quite brutal.
18:11 While you're here, go ahead and click on one of these two videos on your screen.
18:15 We'll see you there!
18:16 [MUSIC PLAYING]
18:19 [BLANK_AUDIO]