Hunting Wolves w/ Eagles (video)

That's good shit.

I would like to see the training stages...

 

A wolf attached on a lure, that would be something worth seeing LOL.

 

Visit a zoo LWG. Some breed eagles in captivity that will :eek:....

 

Aside from the size and speed already mentioned (I'd be willing to bet many of the wolves get their necks broken from the impact of being hit by the bird alone) - I would like to point out the incredible beak strength that birds possess.

If you have ever been bitten by a medium size parrot you can appreciate what I mean, if you have ever been bitten by a large macaw than I know you know what I am talking about.

My Hahn's Macaw is one of the smaller macaw types - she is probably a bit over a foot in length. Even she could easily break the bones in my fingers and cause permanent nerve and tendon damage. When giving me a "warning" (not anywhere near her full bite) before as a baby she damn near flayed the skin off my hand. The larger macaw types could easily break my forearm. This is beak strength alone, no wind up, no flying, just a normal bite - then take into account a Golden Eagle which is much larger diving into its prey at around 150 mph... that is some serious power coming at you.

Birds can do some serious damage.

I've wanted to apprentice in Falconry and other bird of prey handling for a while, it has always fascinated me. Can you imagine going out and hunting with no "weapon", nothing but the bond between you and your prey bird? Sounds amazing to me!

 

There are birds of pray with a wingspan at 3 meters (about 10 ft).
Adivina, it is beautifull, I feel it has something aristocratic in it, but from the very limited knowledge I have it is hard work, you need the right mentor and patience. Falconers can have quite a character but don't we all have? If you decide to proceed, good luck with it.

 

Nah, those are wolf pups. The Northern Chinese, Mongols, Kazakhs, and kyrygzstan people hunt with various types of birds of prey as a source of extra food as well as pelt to keep their families fed and warm during the winter. However, the wolves that eagles are used to hunt are normally pups. The female eagles are also the eagles of choice as they are larger and more powerful than the male. The pups that are 30 lbs. and under can sufficiently be handled by just one eagle, with the eagle normally killing the pup itself or just holding it until the rider gets their and clubs it on horse back. Anything from 30-40 lbs. requires multiple birds, often 2 or 3, but as many as 4 birds will sometimes be used if the wolf is fierce. Anything over 40 lbs. is untouched as the use of golden eagles to hunt wolves often results in serious injury and sometimes death for these birds. The wolves of the area are smaller than the wolves here and average 65 lbs. and maxing out at 100 lbs., but still these wolves are impressive and are far far far more aggressive than the north american grey wolf. These wolves are more solitary and feed themselves by hunting small game individually, only rejoining their pack consisting of two or three adults and cubs to move onto new territory.

 

Thanks for sharing NSDM - you learn something every day.

Thanks for the kind words Taso.

 

You're welcome Adivina. Though I'd also like to clarify some info you posted above. The golden eagles actually aren't known for diving at such speeds and they are actually linear attacking birds. Only falcons dive bomb their prey. The eagles would chase them and spear their victims with their talons instead of a falcon, which would hit them directly overhead. Also it should be noted that raptors do not use their beaks for hunting and their beak strength is very weak. The reasons macaws have such hard bites is because they eat hard nuts and are known to eat clay in the wild, but a raptor's beak is sharp and has a relatively weak bite. Their talons is where they can exert the most pressure and the birds also lack the strength to break their prey's neck. Rather, the kill is a lot more intricate and prescise as the eagles attack the heart, jugular vein, as well as the carotid artery. These birds are all about precision and accuracy rather than brute strength and this is the beauty of hunting with raptors.

 

I've definitely seen golden eagles being used to hunt adult wolves.

 

Really? I've never seen that and all accounts of collecting wolf pelts with golden eagles always speaks of small individuals that are 40 lbs. and under. While the wolves of the area are definitely smaller than what we have here, they still get larger than 40 lbs. The falconers tend to judge the size of the wolf before setting the eagle onto them. Also the eagles will not go after adults since in the wild, wolf pups are preyed upon by the golden eagles as well. Falconry isn't a sport where you train an eagle to attack and hunt for you. It is merely a sport where the eagle is trained to give up its prey in exchange for a meal. Falconry isn't like schutzhund where the bird is your pet, it is a mutual relationship and if the bird is mistreated, they will fly away. You won't be able to train an eagle to attack an adult bull or anything it does not consider prey or anything too large that the eagle won't attempt to hunt, including adult wolves.

 

wow is this a sport - hobby or do they hunt the wolfs for food ? in any event very kool video

 

You are welcome Adivina.
Just for the fun of it

A female kestrel I fostered for a few days, just to help her to gain some strength and to be sure she didn't eat any poisoned mice. Not a big eagle but a falcon it is. Anyway size is relative LOL. I also had a chick kestrel once for couple of months just to help it grow I also tried to train it to hunt with the help of a lure, no idea if it worked or not.

 

Taso I am so jealous!

I got the speed thing from an earlier poster who I thought had gotten the number from a decent source, whoops my bad! I'd be curious to know the speed they are hitting their prey at, sometimes the prey goes head over heels for a decent little throw when hit.

My knowledge is certainly greater in the area of Psittacines than the various prey species - however, like I said the prey bird is certainly sometime I want to learn more about. I know some basic information that I have researched myself in relation to birds of prey, but not enough to know the particular hunting styles or limitations of the different species.

Thank you for sharing that kestrel picture, you just made my day! Do you keep any birds currently? (Prey birds or other wise)

 

The wolves are hunted for food and pelts as far as I understand.

I'm not sure if you would call it a "sport" in the traditional sense, Falconry is definitely a hobby - but above all I think it is an exercise in patience, understanding, and bonding with a magnificent animal. Taso touched on it a bit in a post above yours actually.

 

I do not have any birds at the moment, I was into canaries but the vets here have very limited knowledge in such small animals and I used to get upset everytime I couldn't help them recover from something that could be rediculous. Beyond that, because my balcony has glass around it, many birds hit on it, so I always keep some cortisone drops, a feeding syringe and a few other things in an effort to help them when I can. Recently I had a swallow bird for a few days. They make nests in my building so we get many young ones when they learn to fly. I kept it and when it was OK it just flew away, it was a pleasant feeling.
Because my area is a passage for eurasian kestrels, very often people find young ones and take them to my vet. The next one they get I will foster it and maybe I keep it or not, depends on the bird, how vocal it is, if I can teach it to hunt etc. I will see, it is actually quite some work for such a small creature.

 

A long legged buzzard I found and took her for rehab since she has a problem in her left wing

 

Taso i didnt know that you have bird experiance !!! i really love it very assome bird my friend!! i have treat a small falkon and i let him free when he is full grown before many years ago i named it hok xaxaxa!!Tasos the bird master xaxa!!many birds and experience haves my grandfather he haves some good ones and bread before many years ago he realy loves them!!!anyway the eagles can not take down a full grown wolf ,a greeck black wolf or a big dog or something more strong!! that ones in the video are small coyotes i knew that videos ,i think is not the speed but the force of the foots of the eagles they have the surprize and catching sb unawares but they are assome and strong birds !! i also totaly agree with NewSchoolDogman!!!