Bk Jeong I don't agree. Those animals can squeeze 2x harder than a rottweiler's best bite. And it's known that as soon as they clamp down, it will break that bone.
Magnificent, isn't she? I love this bird. They're so smart, strong, and beautiful. I think those talons are pretty scary. But people forget that those wings can act like whips and can be swung really hard. Plus, that beak is razor sharp and strong. People think: "well, its a bird, for Pete's sake; how much damage can it do?" Well, for any adult stupid enough to challenge this bird, they will NOT forget the ass whopping - provided they recover from the injuries.
Fantastic Video, I can't believe how gentle she is when eating. the way the meat was taken off her and put back on the fist, with no reaction from her was really nice to see. What a bird!!
WOW ! Magnificent Eagle 👍 We really need to protect all their habitat so that they have a future. I wouldn't want to live in a world without Harpy Eagles .....
What a gorgeous bird! I've always loved raptors of all kinds, and the harpy is hands down my favorite. It's incredible how such large birds can fly with ease through crowded rainforests.
What a beautiful bird! And I love the calm patience the handlers are showing as they train it to accept handling. It sounds like great progress, especially for starting when the bird was 5 years old.
O my god .. phenomenal creature. Spectacular! In war is the air attack most effective way to win the battle . Can you imagine how strong this beautiful bird is ? Look at his fearless eyes , legs and claws .. my god
One common big mistakes with eagle training is actually feeding them on fist. The association with glove and food only reinforce their instinct of pressuring with their claws as they would do on a kill. You do not really want a powerful eagle to associate hands and food. Looking at the Kazakhs, they feed their goldies either on the ground or in a wooden pan to prevent hand/food association.
We never saw any evidence of her being footy towards the glove or hands. In part I imagine because we were not micromanaging her food intake. She was willing to eat, but comfortable, relaxed and not threatened by the loss of food or limited food availability. Deprivation or obsession for food created by weight management practices can create those behavior problems. By not going down that path we could still train but not have behavior problems related to food.
+Barbara Heidenreich Golden eagle is a very large, dark brown raptor with broad wings, ranging from (26 to 40 in) in length and from males (5 ft 11 in to 7 ft 8 in) in wingspan primarily dark brown in color, with a paler, typically golden color (the source of the species’ common name) on the back of the crown and nape, and some grey on the inner-wing and tail As an apex predator, a healthy adult golden eagle has no natural predators, although grizzly bears and wolverines have been reported to killed from disturbing their nest
@SuperVeshi The excellent attention to avoiding creating any aggressive responses was critical to keeping this bird as comfortable as possible and therefore she did not present aggressive behavior. In addition most birds of prey rely upon their feet and talons for defense as opposed to using their beaks.
One look at those talons and you KNOW this isn't a bird to mess with. Annoy her/him and you'll feel it, if you're lucky, you might live to tell about it. Imagine if Haast's Eagles were still around...
That bird is both beautiful and scary at the same time. Huge talons, and huge beak. That guy had is face so close to it's beak, and I just kept thinking that if that bird decided to go off on him, it could have pulled his eye out before he knew what was even happening.... I have a lot of respect for those brave enough to study these birds of prey that close up. That said though.. ya'll is some crazy ass people to do it.. ( LOL )..kidding..
I hope that you’re able to add sound on future videos. Awesome to see these magnificent creatures interact with humans...I hope that the jungles remain capable of sustaining a healthy population.
Wow! This is fantastic! I experienced once in a Zoo here in Brazil when one Harpy looked straight into my eyes for minutes. It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life!
Impressive and cautious handling of this King of Raptors. Our property sits between 2 mountains and even though Eagles, Hawks, Falcons, Owls, Kites, Kestrels, Turkey Vultures and Wild Turkeys are daily visitors, I have never seen this mighty bird before!
This one is about 6.4 kilos and is full grown. Eagles sizes can vary in different regions. In the US Bald eagles in the north are much larger than those in places like Florida.
Barbara, this Harpy is beautiful! Great video! There was two in the zoo (in separate enclosures) in Guyana and one of them died a couple years ago. One would be chilling in an owl-like posture, the other was boisterous when you stood near the cage. I could've looked at them all day in awe! ☺
Such a fabulous video! Amazing work :) Definitely a tribute to the great results you can get if you use positive reinforcement correctly!! It must have been quite an opportunity to work with such beautiful and powerful bird. I'm jealous! :)
It is Killa! : ) And no footing at all. The guys did a great job being very sensitive to her body language to avoid giving her reason to foot. She was awesome to work with!
@zethaw the training is based in positive reinforcement which is applicable to all species of animals. And yes absolutely a mature bird can be trained. This eagle was 7 years old when her training began.
@frerty1 Yes we do know : ) This is why we shared this video. It is a fine example of what is possible when you train with positive reinforcement and build a trusting relationship with an animal.
yes they do. :) I saw a documentary lasting over an hour about it. They followed a Harpy eagle from birth. Till it's late "teens". :) They later discovered, that the parents had on purpose. Placed its nest near a group of monkeys. So the young could study the monkeys behavior. Why on purpose, was because the parents NEVER hunted the monkeys nearby, but flew further awway for food. :) Amazing.
As you watch the video you will see the goal is to keep the bird as calm as possible. This requires paying attention to her body language. This way the bird has no reason to want to show aggressive behavior. That is a primary goal in positive reinforcement training : )
@4lifebloods Yes, that was done to get her accustomed to this in case she ever needs to be restrained for a medical procedure. The eagles talons are more dangerous than her beak. Therefore it is best to make sure you have control of the legs. Training her to allow this makes it much less stressful if she needs medical attention.
Question! Can I do this training with a giant Philippine Eagle? I'm here in Mindanao, Philippines where most of the eagles can be found. Damn and they're so effin huge man. They're wild too.
i just watched a documentary about the harpy called the monkey eating eagle, totally amazing animal to see in the wild, hate seeing them caged tho, i realize he/she was born in captivity but still
@silverleapers Our goal was to be very sensitive to her body language. By making sure she was comfortable she did not have a reason to foot. As addressed in the paper we also did not micromanage her weight or use large pieces of food which can also contrbute to footing. There was a lot of trust built with her based on positive reinforcement training and empowering her to participate or not.
so sorry sir, may I have your guidance, please. I know in general, the female eagle tend to be larger as compare to a female eagle, but may I ask, between a male eagle vs a female eagle, which is more quieter and which is more noiser? a male eagle OR a female eagle? please reply as I need the answer as soon as possible, and million thanks sir.
@kysuelta Hello. Great question! There are lots of types of reinforcers besides food. So you can train without using food as a reinforcer. However food can be quite effective. That beng siad there is no need to keep an animal super hungry to train. In fact it is not a good idea. I have 2 papers out there that goes into this more. Check the IAATE conference proceedings. One is Food Glorious Food and the other is the Power of Secondary Reinforcers. There is also a paper on this bird's training.
@TommyEmmanuel2 Technically no, but you would have to have permits from the feds and the state and find someone that would let you have their harpy : ) There are very few in the US.
I worked at Dallas in '05-'06, not in the bird department but right next door to where Kia lived then (I assume this is Kia?). She is beautiful and I loved seeing her every day hunting squirrels on her exhibit mesh. Amazing work!! And such brave keepers to trust her in hand! Did she ever foot anyone in training? I'd hate to be that person! :)
@Travisdjtg Hi Dean, It is hard to educate without grabbing people's attention. Many educators use entertainment as a vehicle to deliver educational messages. As a rehabber/falconer I am sure you would agree free flying birds are great for entertainment, attention getting and offering educational opps. In my experience many zoos utilize the same strategies. Most zoos tend to put the money made right back into improving the zoo and to fund conservation efforts.
@sotovo Most raptors use their feet for hunting, defense and also to express aggression. Raptors have a very powerful grip and sharp talons. Therefore this can be quite damaging. If a raptor foots you, they try to grab you with a foot. In many cases they attempt to foot the glove or your hand if it is nearby. However a good trainer will avoid doing things that cause a raptor to want to foot : ) The goal is for the bird to be comfortable and relaxed when training. Hope that helps!
Hi! Im Indonesian, please teach me how to train my eagle. I have a black eagle or what is it called I dont know this is my first time, so what do I have to prepare for my young black? eagle? Like how many I feed them/bath/play per day. Size is little bit smaller that yours, he bite my fingers but it really not hurt but I worries if he grown bigger and when I put him on my hand he will scratch my face/head or bite my ears.. so please teach me how. Im newbie please reply
No they dont usually attack people's eyes. However it is also important that they familiar to their handlers gradually. Go see the harpy giving Jeff Corwin a hard time on another video. He clearly was a new handler in that video.
Think about it. There are always more members of a species at the bottom of a food chain but very few at the top. The predators all serve to control the populations of the animals below them in the food chain. And the smallest animals or insects at the bottom are the most numerous. Not always, but that is generally the case.
@amityadav270993 This bird was hatched in captivity. Zoos are very dedicated to educating people about animals and wildlife conservation. I believe they play an important role in helping people learn to appreciate animals. I can also say that everyone I have ever worked with at zoos cares deeply about this mission.
@Stevealaska99567 Thanks for your comment. You help illustrate an important point that we are making with this video and training process. There is no need to make an animal super hungry, or aggressive about food in order to get behavior. The entire article on her training can be found in the proceedings for the 2010 IAATE conference.
If it ever foots you real good can you post it !!! (assuming you live)...PLEASE!!!! I seen you take the meat with your bare hand and then transfer it to your gauntlet with your bare hand...the eagle seen it too....AMAZING VIDEO GUYS! Please post more... a buddy got footed by a bald eagle...it was gruesome! I can't imagine in my worst nightmare (having been gently footed by a big FRT) what THAT THING can do! I'd be scared to death to own that thing...
thgis particular bird was not for falconry...just display, education programs and eventually breeding. However there are some folks who have done falconry with harpy's : )
