Eagles and Deer?
December 28th, 2005 David King - King's Outdoor World
In our Special Winter issue of Hunting Illustrated, Michael Burrell brought up an interesting topic in his Mule Deer Watch article about eagles and deer. He throws out the topic of eagles and deer predation and harassment. There is not a lot of documentation on this topic and therefore asks for your help in sharing your experiences from out in the field with eagle and deer interaction. Are eagles a threat to mule deer? Have you witnessed an eagle swoop down and go after a deer (or any other big game animal)?
I, myself, have had an experience during a high country mule deer hunt in 2004 where I witnessed an eagle diving down on a small herd of deer. I was in Colorado with my brother Rob and nephew Colton. We were at about 11,000 feet and had stalked in as close as we could to a small herd of mule deer. They were all bedded down on a grassy knoll overlooking the world. We were sitting there wondering what to do and how long we would have to wait until the deer (or specifically the buck we were after) would stand up. Not even ten minutes had passed when all of a sudden out of nowhere, an eagle soaring high above swooped down and dive bombed within feet of the bedded deer. The eagle did this a second time and it caused the deer to spook and stand up. This was just what we needed to shake things up and get the deer moving. However, we were amazed at what we had just witnessed and couldn’t believe how close the eagle had gotten to the deer when it dive bombed down on them. A few shots later and the buck was on the ground. This particular instance proved benefitial to us, at least this time.
Here is another comment from Mike Ukrainez from Alberta. He emailed me some comments and included this at the end.
This is for Michael Burrell. While guiding Dall sheep hunts in the Northwest Territories I watched a Golden Eagle dive bomb a group of mature rams. They were bedded on a grassy knob with no nearby cliffs to get spooked over and fall to their deaths or anything. After a few swoops they took off down into the trees to get away from the nutty eagle. It also ruined our stalk. I also know ranchers who swear they’ve had healthy week or two old calves killed by Golden Eagles.
If you have any experiences to share about eagles and deer, feel free to post a comment.
Entry Filed under: News and Stuff
16 Comments Add your own
1. Walt Earl | January 2nd, 2006 at 9:37 am
I read your write up in Mule Deer Watch about seeing eagles do their thing on wildlife. So I thought I’d give you some of the sightings I’ve had.
In the late 70’s I worked for the old Animal Damage Control program as a trapper here in central Montana and I had several sightings of the big birds doing their thing. I have seen -eagles- swoop down on both antelope and mule deer, and most of my sighting had 2 or 3 eagles working together, they would come down and hit the prey in the head, making it run faster. In about the third hit the prey would go down and the eagles would land on it and start picking at it. On another sightihg my wife and I were going to town-16 miles one way- and we saw 3 eagles working on a mule deer doe just off the side of the road, we stopped and watched them drop her to the ground, when we returned from town, they were opening her up. Three days later, there was not much left, but the coyotes and other scavengers had a feast.
I’ve also watched as 2 eagles worked a nannie mountain goat as it tried to protect its kid to no avail. The eagles just kept diving at her and her kid until one of the eagles knocked the kid off the ledge, they then glided down to the base of the ledge and had a meal, 2 other men watched this happen sitting along side of me.I’ve set and watched eagles take new born lambs-3 to 4 days old- right off the bed grounds and fly off with them.
I’ve seen Ravens pluck the eyes out of lambs. They land on the lambs head and peck out the eyes and as the lamb runs until it can no longer stand, they land on it and start eating it alive. I’ve seen eagles take fawn antelope and mule deer fawns with ease, when they hit a fawn it never gets up again.
In one mans opinion, eagles are one of the best killers of big game that there is and add the numbers the eagles take, plus the coyotes and you have a loss of game that is a staggering figure.
Again, this is only one mans opinion and it comes from over 40 years of living in the mountains of Idaho and Montana.
Thanks for writing what you did, it may open some eyes, but I doubt it.
2. Kelly R. Smith | January 11th, 2006 at 12:05 pm
Michael
First I just wanted to let you know that I found your article in the Winter Issue excellent. It’s good to know there are still good Sportsmen out there. Living in Southern Utah, I have also noticed the decline of the Mule Deer. And I have grown an admiration and respect for this majestic animal.
To add to your account of Eagles, I witnessed a sight along with two other guys, in an Iron mine that I worked in. This took place nearly 15 years ago. To begin with, the mine had been worked on for 30-some-odd-years, so was around 400 feet deep. At one corner of the pit there was a spring, covered with willows and salt cedar making it a good place for Mule deer to drink. They where able to enter and exit the opposite end of the mine where over the years the high wall had slid off some 250′ onto a safety bench at the same elevation as the water hole.
On this particular morning, I stood about 50′ below the safety bench talking with my boss, and a Mine Foreman, about where our next shot would be drilled. As we were talking, we saw a small herd of does and fawns making their way down the slide, and trailing their way to the water. We watched in awe as an adult Golden Eagle swooped down on the herd, scattering them in all directions. He circled the inside of the pit and zeroed in on a fawn. On the next pass, he separated the fawn from its mother with careful precision. It then swooped down and lit on the fawn’s back. Confused and disoriented, the fawn scrambled away from it’s mother. The eagle flew above the fawn as it ran, and buried it’s talons in the animal’s back, then released it to make another circle. Then the eagle dove down on the and fawn now the only deer left in sight and this time, grasping the fawns ears in his talons. I didn’t realize just how powerful an adult eagle was until I saw it pick the fawn up, with only the back legs skipping along the ground under it for some 100 feet, then letting it go once again this time sending the fawn tumbling to the ground. The fawn sat, dazed for a moment, then stood, and ran again this time in the direction of its mother. I remember cheering the young deer on as it ran full speed toward the spring and the safety of the vegetation.
The eagle circled a few more times, then finally gave up the hunt. I remember that we just looked at each other in disbelief, and I wondered if the eagle would have had any better luck, had we not been there. I also regret not having a camera on hand, but, such is life. Still, it was truly a once in a lifetime experience.
-Sincerely
Kelly R. Smith
3. Kenny Lawson | January 17th, 2006 at 12:49 am
Michael,
I just picked up a copy of the Special Winter Issue and read with interest your experience at watching the golden eagle trying to capture deer and elk. I had a very similar experience that was also witnessed by my hunting partner at the time.
In December, 1986, a friend and I were bowhunting the Cookson Hills WMA in east central Oklahoma. While sitting on a 20 acre food plot one evening I was watching several does and yearlings a couple of hundred yards below me in a corner of the field. Something caught my eye and when I looked I saw the largest bird I had ever seen gliding a few feet off the ground past my stand and going toward the deer. As in your case, the eagle swooped the deer except he made contact with one yearling and actually tried to lift the deer off the ground. The deer was obviously too heavy or the eagle had a poor grip because it released the deer when it dropped to the ground.
The eagle made another swoop and attempted to lift that same deer, or a different one, off the ground when this one made a dash for the trees and the eagle gave up and let go. When the eagle made a close fly-by to me I saw that it was a golden eagle and not an immature bald eagle, which has similar colors.
As for the credibility of this story, this occurred about a year and a half before I started my career as an Oklahoma Game Warden. I have been a game warden for nearly 18 years now, and have witnessed a great many things that most people will not, yet I have never seen this happen again. My hunting partner who also witnessed this event was a recent graduate of Northeastern State University with a major in wildlife biology and had just started his career as a game warden in central Oklahoma.
I have been asked to write this story to be published by the Oklahoma Ornithological Society but I just haven’t taken the time. Interestingly, I just told this story a couple of days ago and then I happened to read about your experience. I don’t think you’re seeing things.
Sincerely,
Kenny Lawson
State Game Warden
4. Pat Davis | January 18th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
I was reading your article in the Special Winter Issue pertaining to the Golden Eagle attack on Elk and Deer, when I had to share my experience while hunting this year, 2005.
We, Pat Davis, Ferin Heafer and Rick Lively, have been hunting for 35 years in the Wallowa Mountains of Eastern Oregon. We were watching 19 Elk with one 5 point Bull feeding in a large opening near the top of the mountain. A Golden Eagle started circling the Elk herd, when suddenly the eagle swooped down and pulled up just before hitting one of the cows.
We looked at each other and said, “Did you see that?” As we continued to watch, the eagle took a fourth dive and made contact on the back of one of the cows just for a split second. This was enough to make the herd bunch up in a circle with the Bull in the middle and all the Cows facing out different directions. When the second Golden Eagle came flying over the hill to join the first Golden Eagle, the lead Cow took the herd and headed over the hill into the trees on the other side for safety.
This was the first time any one of us had ever witnessed this kind of an event.
5. Scott | January 26th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
Wow. I’m Scott from CA. About 30 years ago I was told a story that my great uncle had witnessed a Golden Eagle kill a blacktail fawn by swooping down and breaking the back of the fawn [ no reference to size, weight or age ]. With its spine broken from the eagles talons the fawn could only cry until the eagle returned to finish the job. This would have taken place prior to 1950.
In the early 80’s I was hunting alone, as I was about to crest a ridge I noticed a Golden Eagle circling within 200 yards. As I stopped to admire the grace, a doe and fawn ran directly toward me and stopped under a large oak tree. Neither the deer or the eagle were aware of my presence, even though the deer were only 60 yards away and I was out in the open. The doe was intense, it was very obvious that she had purpose in her actions. Equally as purposeful is what happened next. The eagle went into a full dive in attempt to get to the fawn but was unable to navigate between the ground and the low hanging limbs. I’ll never forget the chill that ran up my spine as it proceded to regain altitude for another pass. In all it made three passes that I was able to witness.
That was the first of several predator / prey encounters I have witnessed. Both the eagle and the doe did not hesitate. They were both acting out of experience, not chance. I’ve been lucky enough to watch mountain lion on doe ,coyote on yearling deer, and coyote on buck attempted kills, but this is not one you would expect to hear of let alone watch.
Scott
6. Phil Carley | January 30th, 2006 at 10:22 am
I bought your magazine and was reading your story about the episode with the eagle. I also have an encounter with one so here it is. One winter day I was driving from our north ranch to our south ranch. There was a lone antelope just about 100 yards off the road. It was a full size doe. Then all of a sudden a golden eagle came out of nowhere and hit that antelope right in the middle of its back knocking it to the ground. The antelope got up with the eagle still on its back with its talons sunk deep into its back. The antelope took off bucking trying to get the eagle off. The eagle had its wings stretched out balancing itself. After going 20 or 30 yards the eagle took off.
I couldn’t believe what I just saw. I said holy cow that eagle must be about blind and thought that antelope was a jack rabbit. I was good friends with our local game warden and so I told him about what I had seen. He had never heard of that happening before but would ask others in the dept. He got back with me a couple weeks later and said that one of the state trappers was aware of that happening. He said what the eagle does is picks out an individual animal and then starts hitting it in the back. The eagle’s talons continue to rip and dig at the animals back until the animal gets infection and then over a period of time gets sick and goes down. The eagle then has a big meal if the coyotes don’t get it first.
An antelope is smaller than a deer or elk but I wouldn’t underestimate the eagle’s ability. Last fall I was mountain goat hunting in BC and my outfitter said that goats have only two things to fear avalanches and eagles. Eagles will pick off the baby goats if they stray far enough away from their mothers. Eagles are very beautiful but they are also a very real predator.
Enjoyed your magazine
Phil Carley
7. Steve Wood | February 2nd, 2006 at 9:58 am
I am responding to your request for witnessing aggressive eagle behavior.
Last Sept. here in Nevada I witnessed an eagle aggressively working and diving on antelope. One was a solo antelope buck and about 200 yards away, a group of three other antelope, one buck and two does. The eagle would cruise back and forth between the two and made multiple dives at both groups. The lone buck and one doe in the other group would rear on their hind legs and butt toward the eagle as he approached. Much like rams lungs during mating battles.
At times the eagle hoovered just over the antelope. I was surprised at how large the eagle looked compared to the antelope, with his large wingspan he seemed to dwarf them.
Steve Wood
Sparks, NV
8. david | February 11th, 2006 at 9:06 am
I distinctly remember seeing an eagle carry a deer with antlers with a mountain in the background. i think the show was a mutual of omaha or disney or at least some nature program. this was MANY years ago.
do you think you could find it and post it on your sight?
9. Scott A. Bianchini | March 1st, 2006 at 10:18 am
Golden Eagle Attacking Whitetails
I photograph and video whitetails in southwestern Wisconsin. In 2001, an immature golden eagle took up residence in a valley where I film deer, (unusual for these parts.) The eagle was extremely aggressive and for a couple of weeks was seen attacking turkeys. After that, he progressed to deer; bucks, does, and fawns. My friends called me crazy also. However, I have evidence as I captured about 18 deer attacks and a few turkey attacks on film. This occurred over a three week period in January-February, 2001. The attacks I have on film consist of the eagle (usually) perched on the ground and then getting airborne and then dive bombing a deer. Once at the deer, the eagle would land on the deer’s back for about a second and dig his talons into its hide. The deer would turn inside-out. That’s pretty cool in itself. However, in the process I learned something about whitetails-They scream! On 4 of the attacks I can hear a deer vocalization that I’ve never heard before. It’s pretty odd.
I got lucky filming the attacks. I had a Canon XL1 and the lighting was good to excellent. Best of all, some of the attacks occurred within 50 yards of my blind. The footage completely blows people away when they see it.
I’ve showed the footage to two raptor scientists, and they claim that it’s the only existing footage of an eagle attacking whitetails. They told me that eagles attacking mule deer, young elk and antelope is quite common. However, they are not aware of anyone having captured it on film.
I’ve gotten some pretty good offers for the footage. However I don’t intend to sell it right now. I have thousands of hours of deer and turkey footage (some of it includes some very unusual stuff) and intend to put together what I like to refer to as the greatest whitetail and turkey video ever made. My goal is to produce a 2 hour video compilation of deer and turkey where every scene incorporates either a monster buck, a very unusual scene, i.e. (a sand hill crane attacking a 10 point buck, buck attacking a decoy, coyote stalking a whitetail, serious buck fights, the eagle footage, etc…) or a high energy scene, (bucks chasing does, turkey fights) Although I probably have enough footage now, I decided last year that the project will not be complete until I get extremely closeup footage and quality audio of a buck fight within 50 yards of my blind. Since I refuse to film in pens or other enclosures, and therefore have no control over the subjects, it may be a while before I’m finished.
Anyway enjoyed your article. The lesson for those who think your seeing things is that if you spend enough time in the woods, you will see some pretty magical things.
Scott A. Bianchini
10. Norman Nelson | April 11th, 2006 at 3:37 pm
As a falconer I have trained Golden Eagles and done extensive tests where we tied small but heavy weights to an eagles legs to see how much weight it could carry. A male can pick up 4lbs and carry it into the wind. It cannot carry anything near 8 lbs.
Do eagles attack deer, elk, antelope, children and all the other
outlandish attackes supposedly revealed here. No, they don’t attack adults of anykind or children. Have they taken lambs, and young deer or antelope, Dall sheep, most likely. Eagles feed on carcasses near highways in the winter, it’s quite common, they don’t kill full grown deer, cars do. In Mongolia the Golden Eagle is trained to hunt foxes, and they are quite capable of taking a full grown fox, however they can’t fly with the dead animal.
Fortunately golden eagles are doing well population wise, enjoy their spectacular beauty, courtship dives in the spring and their magnificent habitats.
11. Scott | January 14th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
I recently read a story about a bald eagle, and though it was not so mighty as to carry off a large mammal I found it interesting.
In Alaska there was a gentleman sitting on his deck watching the eagles feed when a large Bald Eagle swooped down and snatched a healthy sizes salmon out of the lake. As it was flying off the fish flopped loos, as it plummeted to the ground it smashed through a neighbors livingroom window. When the home owner heard the window break she went running into the living foom to find a salmon flopping on her floor. What goes through your mind when you see that?
Red
The Ghillie Suit Source
12. cory | March 26th, 2007 at 10:47 am
I was mule deer hunting in Idaho last year and had been glassing all morning and had seen nothing. After an hour or so, an eagle caught my eye circling the opposite ridge. As I watched him, he swooped down towards the ground, and at the last minute before he hit, he climbed back up. He kept doing this over and over. As I watched through my binoculars, I saw a buck duck his head as the eagle swooped within a few feet of him. I’m sure the eagle wasn’t looking to kill the deer… just tormenting him… I think. It was quite a show, and I ended up killing that buck later in the day. He ended up scoring around 170″. I don’t think I would have spotted him if it hadn’t been for that eagle.
13. Amy Acquafondata | April 26th, 2007 at 1:40 am
About mountain goats, I was at yellowstone NP two years ago, and was told by other visitors just missed cougar stalking mountain goats on canyon walls. Was suprised because those cliffs were very high up, and very steep. So goats have 3 things to fear.
14. Eagle Takes Down a Deer &&hellip | July 11th, 2007 at 10:30 am
[…] This video is circulating around quite a bit lately. This is some incredible footage of an eagle taking down a deer. It looks pretty set up, but still shows the power of what an eagle can do. This footage ties in to an article Michael Burrell did in our Mule Deer Watch section of Hunting Illustrated about Eagles and Deer. You can read some comments about it on this earlier post and see another video clip here. […]
15. larry broderick | December 6th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
just watched a 1st year golden straif and pursue a herd of 8 black tailed deer for about a half hour. I study these birds for various environmental groups. I watched the eagle single out a yearling and run it down a steep hill, the sure footed deer never missed a step. thus this time the mammal got away. I have read about many things being taken by eagles, the best story was from a fish and game guy, who told of a golden riding on the back of a pronghorn til the eagle punctured a lung and finally the pronhorn was taken. many stories of rancher’s seeing eagle on sheep. eagles tkae lamb’s but more often then not when a ealge is on an adult it was carion.
the above stories about mountian goats, antelope, deer and what not are amazing thank- you all for shareing.
I did some research and posted some links above this comment not sure if they made it in, if not just google golden eagle’s hunting deer and there is alot of research and info out there.
16. larry broderick | December 6th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
there is also a video on youtube that show eagle taking gazelle..
go to youtube, search eagle takes gazelle
Leave a Comment
Comment Post Guidelines
1. If you include swear words/vulgar language, your comment will be deleted
2. If you attack somebody personally, your comment will also be deleted
3. If you have something beneficial to add, please carry on...Thanks!
NOTE: All Comments are moderated and must be approved before being posted
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed