As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Saturday, 22 December 2012

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."

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