Picturesque footage has hit the internet showing an eagle attacking a drone in Tirol, Austria – and carrying it off to its lair.
The video opens with birds in flight and views of alpine Austria as the camera drone flies by the mountainous terrain. Then an eagle comes into view, at first gliding at a safe distance.
But pretty quickly it turns out that the bird wasn't scared at all. The skilled hunter was merely choosing a better trajectory to catch its prey: the drone.
After a bit of a rumble, the image stabilizes and all is clear - the drone is in the eagle's strong claws. You can even see the majestic bird's shadow beneath.
The model of the drone featured in the video weighs 1,280 grams – a piece of cake for a grown eagle. They can carry 2 to 3 kilograms in all conditions and are known to have carried twice as much when flying into the wind and taking prey from hillsides.
Birds of prey attack drones quite frequently. Watch this hawk get angry with a camera invading his private airspace.