Camera Trap Captures Golden Eagle Attacking a Deer

Posted on September 23, 2013

A camera trap in the Russian Far East captured a golden eagle attacking a young silka deer. The eagle can be seen attacking the back of the deer in the released photo. The attack by the eagle on the deer was reportedly successful as researchers discovered a deer carcass a few feet away from the camera. A study of the images from the camera revealed the eagle's attack on the deer. Linda Kerley of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Jonathan Slaght of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) published a report on their findings in the Journal of Raptor Research.

Dr. Linda Kerley of ZSL, who runs the camera trap project, says in a statement, "I saw the deer carcass first as I approached the trap on a routine check to switch out memory cards and change batteries, but something felt wrong about it. There were no large carnivore tracks in the snow, and it looked like the deer had been running and then just stopped and died. It was only after we got back to camp that I checked the images from the camera and pieced everything together. I couldn't believe what I was seeing."

Paper co-author Dr. Jonathan Slaght of WCS notes that golden eagles have a history of "eyebrow-raising predation attempts." He says, "The scientific literature is full of references to golden eagle attacks on different animals from around the world, from things as small as rabbits - their regular prey - to coyote and deer, and even one record in 2004 of an eagle taking a brown bear cub."

The camera traps were initially set to study Amur tigers.

Dr. Kerley also say, "I've been assessing deer causes of death in Russia for 18 years - this is the first time I've seen anything like this."

ANIMALS