Negative wildlife encounters happen every day, but here in the United States, we typically hear of attacks on humans by animals like bears and mountain lions. Bald eagles, not so much. And yet, the City of Kodiak Port & Harbors Department has issued a warning to locals; there’s a bald eagle attacking people at Kodiak Harbor, and it’s not pretty.
In fact, at least three of the known attacks have required sutures.
The Port & Harbors Department made a post last week on Facebook, saying: “St Herman (Dog Bay) Harbor users please take note. There have been a number of eagle attacks this week near the end of L and M floats, at least three requiring sutures that we know of.”
The department said they’ve contacted U.S. Fish and Wildlife for help. In the meantime, they’ve also posted somewhat-comical warning posters around the harbor.
Alaska Public Media spoke to Kodiak Island Borough Assembly member James Turner, who confirmed the attacks.
“Be careful over in Dog Bay, walking on L and M floats. There have been multiple eagle attacks,” Turner told the news outlet. “U.S. Fish and Wildlife is looking into this. But multiple people have been attacked and multiple people have needed stitches.”
As to why the bald eagle is attacking people, Steve Lewis, a USFWS biologist, told Alaska Public Media that he suspects the eagle is really interested in the dead fish and food scraps on the docks. Perhaps, then, it’s similar to when a bear becomes used to getting free food from humans and then becomes aggressive.