Golden eagle eats from a walking pronghorn (Mildly Graphic Video)

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DaniBeez
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Golden eagle eats from a walking pronghorn (Mildly Graphic Video)

Post by DaniBeez » Thu Jan 24, 2019 4:18 pm

This clip was shared on a blog I follow, Terrierman's Daily Dose. Thought it was interesting to share, as it is a common assumption that a prey animal has to be dead in order to be fed from. No need to expend the energy to hunt and kill if you don't have to!

I don't know the original source of the footage (likely not seastate21 of Instagram).


[youtube]fbFuuEfVCm8[/youtube]
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Re: Golden eagle eats from a walking pronghorn (Mildly Graphic Video)

Post by loboLoco » Fri Jan 25, 2019 7:58 am

Wow....don't think we'll be adding that to the game, though :/
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Re: Golden eagle eats from a walking pronghorn (Mildly Graphic Video)

Post by Loach » Sun Jan 27, 2019 2:50 am

Oof that looks awfully painful on the pronghorn's part. Super interesting though.
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Re: Golden eagle eats from a walking pronghorn (Mildly Graphic Video)

Post by Koa » Tue Jan 29, 2019 4:19 pm

The 2016 reddit thread for this is great.

Thanks for sharing.

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Re: Golden eagle eats from a walking pronghorn (Mildly Graphic Video)

Post by DaniBeez » Wed Jan 30, 2019 11:54 am

@loboLoco I bet that would be a lot more coding trouble than it's worth :lol: !

@Loach I agree, the pronghorn looks distressed. I wonder how long it has allowed the eagle to perch there. I also wonder if it is unable to turn its head, or has simply given up due to weakness or futility.

@Koa haha, did it end up in r/natureismetal? I could see that!
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Re: Golden eagle eats from a walking pronghorn (Mildly Graphic Video)

Post by elkhunter123456 » Sat Mar 09, 2019 12:35 pm

i dont understand why the pronghorn didnt do the stop drop and roll technique.
the pronghorn should have panicked :eagle:
prey:
hare
beaver
mule deer
elk
moose
competitors:
raven
eagle
fox
coyote
wolf
cougar
bear

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Re: Golden eagle eats from a walking pronghorn (Mildly Graphic Video)

Post by DaniBeez » Sat Mar 09, 2019 3:23 pm

elkhunter123456 wrote:
Sat Mar 09, 2019 12:35 pm
i dont understand why the pronghorn didnt do the stop drop and roll technique.<br style="user-select: auto;">the pronghorn should have panicked :eagle:
Pronghorn on fire 🔥🔥!

But in all seriousness, it looks like the pronghorn is in significant pain even if it isn't reacting more violently to being fed on. He moves in response to the eagle feeding, and its breathing looks distressed.

My guess is that it's analogous to swatting at a mosquito without killing it. The insect will move away when you swat at it, but it will fly right back to feed on you as soon as you stop. It would probably cost the pronghorn significant energy and even further injury to it's back to try and roll the eagle off. And you don't want to weaken yourself further with an injury like that! For this pronghorn, it's probably more beneficial to simply endure the pain of the eagle until it had its fill and flies away, but I imagine it's chances of survival are not good with an exposed wound like that.

It does make you wonder if this pronghorn had another injury we can't see that prevents it from defending itself or running away, though. The eagle probably detected some weakness in this particular animal. I imagine there is easier and smaller prey for an eagle than a healthy adult pronghorn!
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Re: Golden eagle eats from a walking pronghorn (Mildly Graphic Video)

Post by Phasoli » Sat Mar 09, 2019 3:52 pm

Wow. What a trooper. While I’m expecting the Pronghorn to put up a fight, he just moves along despondently. Poor thing’s probably running out of gas. Remarkable footage!
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