Air assault – A Norwegian girl was attacked and injured on Sunday by a golden eagle. Should we be afraid of birds of prey? Not according to the specialists interviewed by “20 Minutes”
She escaped with a few stitches in the back of her head and scratches on her chin and face. An 18-month-old Norwegian girl was attacked by a bird of prey on Sunday while she was in the yard of her family’s farm. According to Norwegian media, a young golden eagle swooped down on the child several times, as if it were prey, forcing her mother to intervene and then a neighbor to chase it away with a stick. The eagle was “euthanized” shortly after by one of the gamekeepers in this Trondelag region, located in the center of the country.
Is this “Hitchcockian” attack plausible, even worrying, and could it happen in France? Apparently yes, since last April a paraglider flying over Savoie took 13 long minutes to escape the talons of a golden eagle that was as aggressive as it was clinging. “We can’t say that it never happens, but it is extremely rare,” explains Simon Potier, an expert in evolutionary biology and birds of prey but also a falconer. Assuming that the Norwegian attacker was indeed a golden eagle – this “powerful” bird of prey can weigh between 3 and 6 kg and have a wingspan of 2.20 m – the scientist finds the event to be of the order of(…) - 20minutes
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