Snatched by hungry eagle, little dog lives to bark the tale

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jan 4, 2018, 8:30 AM ET

The Associated Press

In this photo provided by Jessica Hartman, Monica Newhard, right, and her granddaughter, Helen Welch, hold their pet bichon frise, Zoey, as the dog’s rescuer, Christina Hartman, stands behind them, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, in Palmerton, Pa. Newhard’s brother says an eagle snatched Zoey from the yard. (Jessica Hartman via AP)

Felipe Rodriguez says he thought he was hallucinating when an eagle snatched his sister's little white dog from her yard, flapped its massive wings and disappeared over the trees.

Did he really just see that?

He had. Zoey the 8-pound Bichon Frise was gone, taken by a hungry raptor Tuesday afternoon not 50 feet from his sister's house on the banks of the Lehigh River in Pennsylvania, Rodriguez said.

"It seemed like something from the 'Wizard of Oz,'" he told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "I'm a city boy. This doesn't happen in my world."

Even more astonishing: Zoey would live to bark the tale.

More on that later. But first, let it be said that eagles are quite capable of taking a small dog or a cat.

"It has been documented before, but not that often," said Laurie Goodrich, a biologist at nearby Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, a ridgetop preserve that annually records tens of thousands of migrating hawks, eagles and falcons.

"Food is scarce right now, particularly with this cold snap," she said. "The waterways are freezing up. They're going to be looking a little more widely and taking advantage of whatever might be out there."

Continued 

Eagle big enough to snatch a dog on the loose in Kent

Bird with a wingspan of 9ft is believed to be flying around Kent after it escaped from a midday show in Dartford

3:19PM GMT 15 Feb 2016

A huge hunting eagle capable of carrying off an adult dog in its massive talons is on the loose in Kent.

Rex the Steller's sea eagle, who went missing after a birds of prey demonstration, has a wingspan of 9ft and is considered the most aggressive of its kind - and is easily capable of killing a Jack Russell.

The king of the skies can carry off prey weighing up to 13lbs, the weight of an adult Shih Tzu, a miniature poodle, or an Italian Greyhound and should not be approached.

Home to far eastern Russia, the eagle usually feasts on wild salmon, but is more than partial to pets and wild birds, which it dives down upon and clutches with its powerful talons.

In the wild some Steller's have been recorded preying on young seals weighing more than 18lbs.

The huge bird, which makes a deep barking cry when aggressive, is believed to be flying around Kent after it escaped from a midday show in Dartford on Sunday.

Since Rex's disappearance, the Eagle Heights Wildlife Park have been attempting to find him but the transmitter they had hoped to use has failed.

The park, which last heard that Rex was seen on Monday afternoon perched in a tree in Lullingstone, Kent, is appealing to the public for help.

Continued ...

Britain's oldest-known golden eagle found dead after 'territorial dispute'

22:59, 28 AUGUST 2015

BY KARRIE GILLETT

A spokesman for RSPB Scotland said that the 18-year-old bird seemed to have been involved in a fight with a younger rival

Britain’s oldest-known golden eagle has been found dead after an apparent territorial dispute with a younger rival.

The bird was ringed at just a few weeks old in June 1997 and its carcass was discovered close to a nest site in Sutherland almost exactly 18 years later.

RSPB Scotland said tests confirmed it had died from natural causes.

A spokesman said: “We think what might have happened is that a younger bird has come along and there has been a bit of a tussle because the older one doesn’t want to give up its territory, and these fights can result in death.

“Although conjecture, we think that is the most likely explanation.”

Continued ...

Drone Video Captures Bruising Mid-Air Encounter With Eagle

Aug 11, 2015, 1:46 PM ET

By LOUISE DEWAST via GOOD MORNING AMERICA

An Australian drone user had an unexpected encounter with a feisty raptor when the drone he was piloting was hit by an eagle flying at full speed.

"It survived," Adam Lancaster said about his drone, "but I need $100 in parts to get it going again."

The Wedge-Tailed Eagle also survived the impact, according to Lancaster, who said she "hovered over to make sure we had learned our lesson."

Lancaster is a drone photographer and videographer based in Melbourne, training to become a certified drone operator.

"Eagle was fine -- she was massive, and used talons to 'punch' the drone out of the sky," Lancaster wrote on the video description he posted online.

Lancaster has urged other drone pilots to avoid sharing the airspace with birds of prey.

Continued and video ...

Eagle makes history as it flies from the top of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa tower

An eagle has made history, becoming the first bird to fly from the planet’s tallest building.

Darshan, an imperial eagle, flew from the top of the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai with a tiny camera attached to its back, in what was the highest recorded bird flight in the world.

Freedom Conservation, an organisation that campaigns to raise awareness of threatened species, organised the epic feat.

Jacques-Olivier Travers, a falconer at Freedom Conservation, said: “This was an incredible challenge and the most difficult of my career.

"Not only is this the highest vertical flight that has ever been done, but the eagle also had to fly in a totally different environment, with strong wind disturbances caused by the skyscrapers.”

Continued ...

RARE BIRDS: Killing of rare eagle shows we have an inbred, backward, hillbilly element

The killing of this and other rare birds might serve as a metaphor for a country which cares for nothing or nobody

Mar 07, 2014 11:00

BY PATFLANAGAN

The killing of this and other rare birds might serve as a metaphor for a country which cares for nothing or nobody

Dr Allen Mee holds the grim find

The Roman legions carried an eagle on their battle standards and the Americans have an eagle as their national emblem – here we shoot and poison them.

We have the country’s first Irish-bred white-tailed eagle in more than 100 years and some bastard blasts it from the sky with a shotgun.

What does it say about Ireland when there are morons who set out purposely to kill endangered species?

It says we have an inbred, backward, hillbilly element that would not be out of place in the darkest Louisiana swamps.

Many countries are so proud of their eagles they have them as their national emblems.

If we were to do that it would have to be a specimen riddled with bullet holes.

Environmentalists have dreamt for decades of bringing back our great birds of prey and managed to do so in recent years.

Continued

Make golden eagle Scotland’s national bird - RSPB

IT WAS once one of the most persecuted birds of prey in the country.

But conservation charity RSPB Scotland has launched a major campaign to have the golden eagle named as Scotland’s national bird, taking its place alongside the lion rampant, Saltire and the thistle as emblems of Scotland.

The bird of prey, whose image is already used on company logos, place names and ancient burial sites, was recently named the nation’s favourite in a competition run by Scottish Natural Heritage and VisitScotland to vote for Scotland’s favourite wild animal. The raptor attracted almost twice as many votes as the red squirrel in second place.

RSPB Scotland has now launched an online petition, fronted by leading wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan, which the conservation charity plans to submit to Scottish ­ministers. The petition urges ministers to formally designate the species as a national symbol.

Read on and watch video...

Wildlife authorities probe death of Philippine eagle released in wild

Wildlife authorities said Saturday they are investigating the death of a rare Philippine eagle, one of the world's largest and most endangered raptors, shortly after it was captured by a local resident.

The carcass of the giant bird, belonging to a species that is threatened with extinction, was recovered from a resident of Gingoog city in Mindanao, the Philippine Eagle Foundation said.

It had only been released into the wild by conservationists two months earlier.

"Minalwang (the name given to the bird by the foundation) was captured. The bird died of infection that had been aggravated by its captivity," the foundation's communications officer Beauxy Auxtero told AFP.

She would not discuss the cause of the infection, nor comment on a statement by a government wildlife official that the eagle, a juvenile male, had been shot to death.

Auxtero said the Gingoog resident who had captured the bird had not been placed under arrest.

The bird had two bullet wounds, Josie de Leon, wildlife resources division chief of the environment department's Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau, told AFP earlier Saturday.

Killing endangered species in the Philippines is punishable by a 12-year prison term and stiff fines, she added.

Continued

Giant bird statue facing new home, possibly at the MCG

THE famous 25m bird sculpture at Docklands that may now need to move should be relocated near the MCG, says an Aboriginal elder.

Wurundjeri tribe member Joy Murphy said that Eagle, which is popularly known as Bunjil, was a cultural icon.

"Ideally it should be placed somewhere central, and central country of Wurundjeri is in the MCG area," she said.

"That would be a really nice spot for it."

The fate of Bunjil is up in the air after property giant Lend Lease won approval for a $1.5 billion development at Batman's Hill off Collins St.

Lend Lease has indicated that Bunjil, located on Wurundjeri Way, will need to shift, but the sculpture's owner Places Victoria said this was unconfirmed.

Created by artist Bruce Armstrong, the sculpture was inspired by the local Aboriginal mythic eagle Bunjil.

Planning Minister Matthew Guy said that if Bunjil needed a new nest it had to be close to its current home.

"It's a unique statue and symbol of Docklands," he said today.

Continued

Eagle being treated at Roseville bird clinic for lead poisoning

ROSEVILLE, CA - A golden eagle suffering from lead poisoning is being nursed back to health.

It was found on the ground in Colusa County near East Park Reservoir. A local wildlife rehab group brought the eagle into the Bird and Pet Clinic in Roseville this week with levels of lead that were off-the-chart. A big concern was whether the bird would survive and recover from the lead poisoning.

The eagle is paralyzed and can't use her feet or her talons; it'll take a month before the eagle may be able to stand. She also has some paralysis of her tongue. The eagle also has kidney problems.

But, after nearly a week at the clinic, the eagle has a good appetite again and is being treated with medicine twice a day.

Continued:  http://www.news10.net/news/article/234137/2/Eagle-being-treated-for-lead-poisoning

Eagle Grabs Baby?: Video Of Bird Snatching Child In Montreal Baffles Viewers (UPDATES)

No, this baby-snatching bird is not part of a Hitchcock sequel. But, according to YouTube user MrNuclearCat, the video above shows a golden eagle grabbing a baby in Montreal.

The video appears to show a bird swooping down, snatching a small child, and yes, they appear to get some air before the eagle lets go of the baby, who is later seen crying.

Many YouTube commenters have been skeptical of this "Golden Eagle Snatches Kid" video. As opennewscast wrote, "I've been working with digital images professionally for 15 years, and I'm convinced this is fake. The swoop down at 0:10 looks just like cheap CGI to me."

Others took a more comedic take, such as beepeachie, who wrote, "Son, well, I don't know quite how to tell you this, but - you were dropped on your head as an infant. By an eagle."

According to National Geographic, golden eagles are the largest bird of prey in North America and protected by law. Many birds are threatened by habitat loss, though thegolden eagle currently appears to have a stable population.

Golden eagles have a wingspan of up to 7.5 feet, and dive at their prey at speeds of over 150 miles per hour. Usually though, they choose to grab rabbits, marmots and squirrels... not children.

UPDATE: A blog post on the Montreal animation school Centre NAD website claims that the video was a hoax created by their students. The post states:

The “Golden Eagle Snatches Kid” video, uploaded to YouTube on the evening of December 18, was made by Normand Archambault, Loïc Mireault and Félix Marquis-Poulin, students at Centre NAD, in the production simulation workshop class of the Bachelors degree in 3D Animation and Digital Design.

According to the post, "Both the eagle and the kid were created in 3D animation and integrated in to the film afterwards."

Video at:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/19/eagle-grabs-baby-video-montreal-bird-child_n_2327209.html