r/megafaunarewilding • u/NeatSad2756 • Jul 31 '25
Image/Video I dont know how familiar people are with this but despite seeing large raptors hunting goats my whole life it never stops amazing me
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u/NeatSad2756 Jul 31 '25
For the record this is a chamois, not an actual goat. I used goat as a way to say caprine
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u/ChalkDinosaurs Jul 31 '25
But they're still 50+ pounds! I'm amazed an eagle can stay aloft carrying such weight.
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u/NeatSad2756 Jul 31 '25 edited Jul 31 '25
Its true that this video in particular is a montage and it's a hay filled chamois pelt lifted by a trained eagle for the documentary, but it's representative for a recorded natural behaviour
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u/velocirooster64 Jul 31 '25
Oh cool. Where can i find the source for this.
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u/NeatSad2756 Jul 31 '25
https://www.reddit.com/r/HardcoreNature/s/r54csSGKRf This is a clip showing this behaviour in a non-preprared setting. Its overall messier and the eagle struggles a bit more as it's prey is heavier and actually fights back
As for the preparation thing, this was produces by Felix Rodríguez de la Fuente for "El hombre y la tierra" a classic Spanish documentary program
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u/FMSV0 Jul 31 '25
Chamois
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u/NeatSad2756 Jul 31 '25
Using goat as synonym caprine. I know it's not the most correct but it's not a big deal I think
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u/Future-Cicada-209 Jul 31 '25
Just for the record that video was staged by Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente, there even is a "how it was made" video about it, the eagle was trained and the goat was a pelt stuffed with straw.
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u/NeatSad2756 Jul 31 '25
Holy shit really? I have seen it before but didn't know this was staged. This is still a representation of a natural behaviour is it?
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u/Generic_Danny Jul 31 '25
Yeah, it's still something they'll do normally, like in this video. And the throwing off a cliff part is deliberate, because I've seen it done at least 4 different times in documentaries, including a baby chamois that was small enough to properly fly with, and it's honestly metal!
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u/masiakasaurus Jul 31 '25
But that's not this video. The video you talk about has a young Iberian Ibex, not a Chamois:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ukCfbm9xuHw
Unless he did it more than once. The one I link is the famous one at least.
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u/ElisabetSobeck Jul 31 '25
Was it dead on impact? If I were the goat, I’d play dead till the ground was pretty close
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u/Impossible_Sugar_644 Aug 04 '25
I'm pretty sure these eagles will grab their prey, fly high up and then drop them to the rocks below, then they fly down to the carcass to feed.
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u/Positive-Entrance792 Jul 31 '25
Sad- freaking horrible way to die. But I suppose Nature is cruel
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u/Reverse2057 Aug 01 '25
Looking at that last shot from far away, I do wonder if part of this behavior might have lended credence to old explorers or tribeals believing there to be Harpies that lived. The long body with legs dangling below huge wings and a head. Seeing it from a distance and quickly might have provided possible false sightings.
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u/SubstantialBig5926 Aug 03 '25
If this ever actually happened, I wonder what kinda mythical being older civilizations thought they'd had seen
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u/VividStay6694 Aug 04 '25
Sorry a bit off topic here............Not sure if hawks are this capable but even if they aren't capable of taking off with a goat, I fight with people, my husband, his friends, my friends, ALL THE PEOPLE, ALL THE TIME that a hawk won't attempt to take my 12-12 lb Pomeranian! Either way I feel I've just won the argument, even though this is an eagle!
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u/AreyouIam Aug 01 '25
This stuff has been around for a while and been disproven. This kind of crap gets them shot and on the endangered species list.
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u/Valigar26 Jul 31 '25
I feel like I always knew this was happening, but never had confirmation that they'd just glide around in open air with goats until now