(Image: Linda L. Kerley & Jonathan C. Slaght/ZSL)
A golden eagle swoops down like an assassin from the sky, sinking its claws into its hefty prey 鈥� a sika deer.
The scene, which is the first documented case of such an attack, was captured at the Lazovsky State Nature Reserve in southern Russia by a . Linda Kerley from the Zoological Society of London and her colleagues working on the project were surprised to find photos of the encounter during a routine equipment check. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the first time I鈥檝e seen anything like it,鈥� says Kerley. 鈥淚t鈥檚 rare for golden eagles to snatch up deer.鈥�
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The birds of prey typically hunt other birds or small mammals but they occasionally opt for larger prey, such as coyotes. In another rare event, a golden eagle was spotted , carrying it up into the clouds where it disappeared from view. No remains were found.
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