Eagles are calculating hunters. They’re precise, they’re powerful, and they’re ballsy. When eagles get curious, perhaps it’s best not to be the object of their curiosity. For drones going about their business in the air, eagles can be a professional hazard, at least according to several videos circulating online.
In one viral video, a golden eagle flies up to a drone head on, then comes at it with its talons. The drone stood no chance.
In another video, a bird of prey that appears to be another golden eagle suddenly snatches a drone from behind. You catch an incriminating glimpse of a wing, and then you see the bird’s underside as it carries the device away to its nest.
“Just an eagle reminding me whose airspace I’m in!” wrote Adam Culbertson in an Instagram post sharing a drone vs. eagle video. “I kept thinking the eagle would drop it, but it quickly carried my new FPV drone all the way out of range (presumably to some faraway nest). Luckily these drones shut off their propellers as soon as they detect an impact, so the eagle was not harmed.”
Watch the dramatic moment a golden eagle snatches a drone mid-air here:
Watch another eagle steal a drone here: