Birds of prey are one of the most successful and diverse hunters on the planet. Thanks to their ability to fly, they were able to master the most unusual habitats and learned to hunt almost any prey, from insects to large mammals. The hero of today's video is one of the largest and most dangerous feathered predators, regularly attacking prey several times its size and posing a real threat even to humans. Meet the golden eagle! The golden eagle is one of the most successful and widespread birds of prey. Its range covers almost the entire Northern Hemisphere, including most of North America and Eurasia. As a habitat, the golden eagle prefers open spaces, primarily mountains and steppes, since, due to its huge wings, it is not able to effectively hunt in dense forests. The body length of a golden eagle can reach 1 meter, and its weight is 7 kilograms, with a wingspan of up to 2.5 meters. Like other birds of prey, the golden eagle has incredibly sharp eyesight, one of the best among all living organisms. The superciliary fold, which gives the golden eagle a formidable look, is necessary to protect it from bright sunlight, and a well-developed nictitating membrane moisturizes the eye and cleanses it of dust. Eye focusing in the golden eagle and other birds is carried out not only by changing the curvature of the lens, as in mammals, but also by moving the lens relative to the retina. At the same time, on the retina itself, there are as many as two zones with maximum image clarity, instead of one in mammals and most other birds. Thanks to these adaptations, the golden eagle is able to spot objects the size of a hare at a distance of several kilometers. The golden eagle is able to hunt at any daytime, but usually hunting takes place in the morning or in the evening. Most often, during the hunt, he soars for a long time in the ascending air currents, but sometimes, especially in cloudy weather, it prefers to look out for prey sitting on some hill, for example, on a tree or a high rock. Most often, the prey of the golden eagle is relatively small animals, for example, marmots. Also, very often golden eagles hunt hares. Large species of hares are capable of reaching a mass of 8 kilograms and running at speeds up to 70 kilometers per hour, but even this is too little to escape from the golden eagle. Its speed in normal horizontal flight can reach 130 kilometers per hour, and this is already quite enough to catch up with any land animal. If the golden eagle dives for prey from a great height, it can accelerate up to 320 kilometers per hour, which makes it possible to almost instantly overtake not only any land prey, but also any bird, with the exception of the peregrine falcon, the only creature that surpasses the golden eagle in speed. In general, birds do not very often become the prey of the golden eagle, but if the opportunity arises, it is capable of killing even such large birds as cranes. Huge wood grouses, despite the fact that they live in dense forests, during the breeding season lose their vigilance and easily become victims. However, if the bird manages to notice the danger in time, then it may well dodge a swift attack. Various types of foxes are common prey for golden eagles. Despite their agility and sharp teeth, foxes have almost no chance of winning in a fight with an adult golden eagle. Its claws can reach 8 centimeters in length, and the force of compression of the paws is several times greater than the force of compression of a human hand. When attacked, the claws penetrate deeply into the body of the victim, damaging the blood vessels and internal organs, as a result of which it quickly dies. Of course, when hunting very large animals, such as deer and other ungulates, the claw must be struck precisely in vital places, for example, in the neck or spine. If the golden eagle missed and did not touch the victim's vital organs, then the killing process can be very delayed, or the hunt will generally be unsuccessful and even dangerous for the golden eagle itself. More often, golden eagles hunt large animals in the mountains, because in such conditions they can kill them not only with the help of their claws, but also simply by throwing them off a high cliff. Sometimes golden eagles even attack people, especially children. Although such attacks are very rare, fatal cases have been reported. In many ecosystems, the golden eagle is at the top of the food chain and has no rivals on land or in the air. Even relatively large land predators, for example, coyotes, usually hesitate to take prey from the golden eagle, because, even being on the ground, it still poses a mortal danger to them. Most other birds of prey also rarely come into open confrontation with the golden eagle. Including the white-tailed eagle, which is almost equal in size, but feeds mainly on fish and other relatively small animals. However, some especially large birds, such as the California condors, are able to drive away even the golden eagle from prey. Sometimes large flocks of corvids can attack golden eagles. But the most frequent opponents and competitors for the golden eagle are other golden eagles. Its large size and good learning ability made the golden eagle a popular bird for hunting other animals. Most often, golden eagles are used to hunt hares and foxes. But sometimes they are taught to hunt large ungulates and even small wolves. Golden eagles reach sexual maturity at the age of about 5 years and are strictly monogamous birds, that is, they form a pair for a lifetime, the duration of which is about 30 years. Usually there are two eggs in a clutch, but almost always only one, the strongest and most aggressive chick, survives. After about three months, it is already capable of flying, but it becomes completely independent of his parents only after six months. Since the 17th century, golden eagles have been actively exterminated in many countries, as they often attacked livestock, including goats, sheep and even calves. Currently, in most countries, the golden eagle is taken under protection, and despite the fact that in many areas it is a rather rare bird, due to its huge range, its total number remains quite high and stable. If you liked this video, like it and subscribe to the channel. That's all for today, bye everyone!
