Eagles are lean and mean killing machines. They have sharp talons, beaks and are also very strong. However, here is an interesting fact: eagles have many intricate and creative techniques for killing their prey. If you ever wondered; how eagles kill their prey in the wild, this is your full guide.
Some of these techniques might even surprise you a lot. For example, eagles sometimes snap their prey’s necks or drop them from the sky. Nature is wild. And eagles fully participate in its wildness. Let’s check out 8 common ways eagles kill their prey.
How Do Eagles Kill Their Prey: 8 Common Methods
Eagles are built to hunt and kill. They have unique physical characteristics that make them very effective at it. Their powerful beaks and sharp talons can easily rip into flesh.
Additionally, a large eagle has enough strength in its foot to break a human arm. However, despite their immense strength, eagles use a lot of different techniques to kill their prey. And it depends on their environment, species, and the prey itself.
1. Suffocation
Eagles use suffocation to typically kill smaller prey like other small birds. They use their immense strength in their legs and large, sharp talons to force the air out from the lungs of their prey.
Some eagles will swoop in on their prey and hold it against the ground until it dies. They use their large wings to block the nostrils and cover the mouth to stop their prey from breathing.
2. Striking With Their Wings
An eagle’s wingspan depends on the species. A bald eagle, for example, can have a wingspan of about 8.2 feet. Martial eagles have some of the largest wingspans of any species which can reach up to 8.5 feet!
Yes, if you did not realize it yet, eagles are huge. Such large wingspans also mean they have a lot of strength in their wings. And eagles will use their wings to cause trauma and strike their prey. It will render the prey completely defenseless. Then the eagle can kill it or start eating it right away.
3. Releasing Prey From Great Heights
One of the most dramatic ways an eagle kills its prey is by dropping it from a high place. Eagles can soar quite high in the sky. Depending on the species, they can reach anywhere between 10,000 to 20,000 feet above sea level. Moreover, they can carry about half their body weight.
So, after an eagle catches its prey, it rises high in the sky and simply drops it to the ground. The prey will hit the ground at incredible speeds, which might kill it instantly or gravely injure it. If the prey does not die, eagles will drop their prey a couple of times till it dies – pretty crazy stuff.
4. Drowning
Drowning is another technique eagles use to kill their prey. However, this technique is usually reversed for shallow water bodies. It allows the bird to quickly swoop in, drown its prey and fly away with it.
They will come in, grab their prey with their powerful talons, and hold it underwater till the prey eventually drowns to death. Sometimes, the eagle uses its beak to ‘finish the job.’
5. Pouncing On Their Prey
Eagles are very efficient fliers. And since their talons are so powerful, they use them as a very effective tool to come down from the sky and pounce on their target.
In most cases, the prey does not know what hit them till it’s already too late. The sheer force from the momentum and the eagle’s body weight is enough to kill the prey.
Since an eagle can fly quite high, it can build up a lot of speed when they are swooping down on its target. Moreover, their sharp talons are enough to rip into the flesh.
6. Breaking The Prey’s Neck
These airborne hunters try to conserve as much energy as possible when hunting. Therefore, they prefer to kill their prey as quickly and as efficiently.
If the prey is small enough, they will try to kill it by breaking its neck. The eagle will grab its prey with its talons and twist it to break its neck. Their sheer strength can break the neck of the prey and kill them instantly.
Breaking the prey’s neck allows the eagle to quickly kill its prey and not waste too much energy. It is efficient and perfect if the eagle has not eaten for a few days.
7. Ripping Apart
One of the most visceral ways eagles kill their prey is by ripping it apart. As we mentioned, eagles can deal major damage, even to humans. Their beaks and talons are incredibly sharp and have a lot of strength.
As a result, ripping their prey apart is a tactic large eagles will often use. Bald eagles, crowned eagles, and harpy eagles will usually rip their prey apart to kill it. As you might imagine, it is a pretty gruesome scene to witness.
8. Crushing The Prey’s Skull
Eagles can be quite crafty when they are hunting different animals. When killing animals like snakes and other reptiles, they will try to crush their skulls.
The bird uses this technique to kill prey like snakes and deer because they are hard to pin down. Then they might dig into it with their strong beaks and talons.
FAQ
Does an eagle kill its prey before eating it?
Eagles do not always kill their prey before eating it. They will often start eating their prey alive after subduing or injuring it.
How can an eagle kill prey much bigger than them?
The Eagles are incredibly strong. Bald eagles, for example, can exert about 400 pounds of force. Additionally, their talons are very sharp. It can rip into flesh, tough skin, scale, and even fur. Apart from being exceptionally strong, they use different techniques to kill prey that are much larger than they are.
What features of an eagle help it to catch its prey?
Eagles have freakishly good eyesight, razor-sharp talons, and a strong beak that all form the perfect arsenal for hunting and killing its prey.
Conclusion
So, how do eagles kill their prey? They use a myriad of techniques, like ripping them apart, suffocation, trauma, and more. Knowing their hunting techniques help to appreciate eagles more. Not that it was hard previously to appreciate these seasoned hunters.
Anyway, it just goes to show how intricate and multifaceted some of the killing techniques of raptors like eagles are. And it makes us appreciate mother nature’s beauty and cruelty.
