Rare Pictures: Golden Eagle Savages Russian Deer (Somewhat Graphic/PG 13)

[mbig]

Pictures were discovered on Camera meant for Siberian Tiger research only after finding mysterious dead deer nearby.
Two second interval camera.

Rare Pictures: Golden Eagle Savages Russian Deer
Dan Vergano
9/24/2013
National Geographic

A camera trap intended for Siberian tiger research in southeastern Russia instead captured a golden eagle swooping on a yearling sika deer on December 1, 2011.
The camera trap caught two seconds of the attack, starting with the photo above, which ended badly for the deer—a healthy yearling estimated to be at least seven months old.
"I've been assessing deer causes of death in Russia for 18 years—this is the first time I've seen anything like this," Kerley said in a Wildlife Conservation Society statement on the camera-trap images.

The researchers checked the photos in the trap only after finding the deer, dead in the snow nearby.
[........]

Photographs courtesy Linda Kerley, Zoological Society of London

In for the Kill

[........]

Takedown

[........]
Death Knell

[........]​

 

[TurtleDude]

In persia, Golden Eagles were used to hunt small gazelle

I am surprised the deer didn't roll over

I saw a redtail hit a young coon one time-that same hawk had taken two of its siblings earlier but this one had gained some weight and a bit of experience I suppose

The coon rolled over on its back and all four sets of claws started flailing like buzz saws. both critters survived but that hawk-to the best of my knowledge, never went after a coon again. there was fur and feathers everywhere

 

[mbig]

That's a large bird.
The pix were in the Soviet Far East. Eurasian, the largest Golden Eagle race.
Interesting, Golden Eagles have Races too, and we can call them races without political fallout.
9 ft Wingspan has been recorded. Rodan!

Golden Eagle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"....Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many areas which are now more heavily populated by humans. Despite being extirpated from or uncommon in some its former range, the species is still fairly ubiquitous, being present in sizeable stretches of Eurasia, North America, and parts of North Africa. It is the largest and least populous of the five species of true accipitrid to occur as a breeding species in both the Palearctic and the Nearctic.[2]

For centuries, this species has been one of the most highly regarded birds used in falconry, with the Eurasian subspecies having been used to hunt and kill prey such as Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) in some native communities. Due to its hunting prowess, the Golden Eagle is regarded with great mystic reverence in some ancient, tribal cultures. The Golden Eagle is one of the most extensively studied species of raptor in the world in some parts of its range, such as the Western United States and the Western Palearctic.
[.......]
The maximum size of this species is a matter of some debate. Large races are the heaviest representatives of the Aquila genus and this species is on average the seventh-heaviest living eagle species. The Golden Eagle ranks as the second heaviest breeding eagle in North America, Europe and Africa but the fourth heaviest in Asia.[4][2]

For some time, the largest known mass authenticated for a wild female was the specimen from the nominate race which weighed around 6.7 kg (15 lb) and spanned 2.55 m (8 ft 4 in) across the wings.[9] American Golden Eagles are typically somewhat smaller than the Large Eurasian races, but a massive female that was banded and released in 2006 around Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest became the heaviest wild Golden Eagle on record, at 7.2 kg (16 lb).[10] No comprehensive range of weights are known for the largest subspecies (A. c. daphanea).[9] Captive birds have been measured up to a wingspan of 2.81 m (9 ft 3 in) and a mass of 12.1 kg (27 lb) (the latter figure was for an eagle bred for the purposes of falconry which tend to be unnaturally heavy), respectively.[9] The standard measurements of the species include a wing chord length of 52–72 cm (20–28 in), a tail length of 26.5–38 cm (10.4–15 in) and a tarsus length of 9.4–12.2 cm (3.7–4.8 in).[4] The culmen reportedly averages around 4.5 cm (1.8 in), with a range of 3.6 to 5 cm (1.4 to 2.0 in) and the bill length from the gape measures around 6 cm (2.4 in).[11][12] The long, straight and powerful hallux-claw (or hind claw, the equivalent to the big toe) can range from 4.5 to 6.34 cm (1.8 to 2.50 in), being about one centimeter more than the hallux-claw of a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and a little more than one cm less than a Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja).[13][14][15] The sexes are similar in plumage but are considerably dimorphic in size. Females are rather larger than males with the differences increasing as the body size increases across the races. ".."

 

[ChrisL]

Pictures were discovered on Camera meant for Siberian Tiger research only after finding mysterious dead deer nearby.
Two second interval camera.

Rare Pictures: Golden Eagle Savages Russian Deer
Dan Vergano
9/24/2013
National Geographic

A camera trap intended for Siberian tiger research in southeastern Russia instead captured a golden eagle swooping on a yearling sika deer on December 1, 2011.
The camera trap caught two seconds of the attack, starting with the photo above, which ended badly for the deer—a healthy yearling estimated to be at least seven months old.
"I've been assessing deer causes of death in Russia for 18 years—this is the first time I've seen anything like this," Kerley said in a Wildlife Conservation Society statement on the camera-trap images.

The researchers checked the photos in the trap only after finding the deer, dead in the snow nearby.
[........]

Photographs courtesy Linda Kerley, Zoological Society of London

In for the Kill

[........]

Takedown

[........]
Death Knell

[........]​

Wow! That's amazing! Poor deer though. That must be a terrible way to go!

 

[ecofarm]

I've seen an eagle try to chase a baboon off a small kill.

 

[ChrisL]

I've seen an eagle try to chase a baboon off a small kill.

Too bad you don't have pictures of that. That would really spice up the album huh? :lol:

 

[ecofarm]

Too bad you don't have pictures of that. That would really spice up the album huh? :lol:

I'd need to look, had one of the eagle approaching the baboon. Masai Mara, northern end of the Serengeti, '03.

 

[TurtleDude]

Wow! That's amazing! Poor deer though. That must be a terrible way to go!

all the people who think Bambi is a documentary ought to watch that

 

[ChrisL]

I'd need to look, had one of the eagle approaching the baboon. Maasai Mara, northern end of the Serengeti, '03.

That would be sweet if you had some.

 

[ChrisL]

all the people who think Bambi is a documentary ought to watch that

Are there people that actually think that besides maybe 3 year olds? :lol:

 

[ecofarm]

That would be sweet if you had some.

Giraffes, elephants, a cheetah.

 

[TurtleDude]

I'd need to look, had one of the eagle approaching the baboon. Masai Mara, northern end of the Serengeti.

baboons are bad ass. I hunted Kenya in 76. two of the baddest creatures in Kenya are baboons and Hyenas. Hyenas have among the most powerful jaws on earth. we found a bunch tearing up a Masai cow and the 14 year old kid tending the cattle didn't even have a spear and his father was too far away so while Hyenas are protected the hunter told me to shoot the closest one-I did, and he whacked a couple more with the 458 elephant rifle. SO I got a close look at the jaws-brutal critters -lions tend not to pick fights with them but,,

he said hyenas won't go up against an adult baboon. They have some nasty fangs and are incredibly strong for their size. Plus they tend to fight in groups.

 

[ChrisL]

Giraffes, elephants, a cheetah.

Why haven't you posted them?