Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
ALMOST BEEKEEPING - RELATED TOPICS => FARMING & COUNTRY LIFE => Topic started by: 220 on February 20, 2018, 08:23:50 pm
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Neighbour gave mum a call early yesterday morning to say 3 wedegtail eagles were into something in one of our paddocks. When mum investigated she found they had a 5 month old lamb. Eagle took off when she drove up and the lamb got back to its feet and walked off.
The lamb is a runt, born with a dodgy leg but still gets around and would have weight 40lbs or more. You can see the dried blood in the picture where they have attacked it around the back of the head/neck and ribcage
(http://www.australianhunting.net/gallery/5096-210218085002.jpeg)
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That's one lucky lamb. Thanks for sharing.
Jim
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From Wiki:
Wedge-tailed eagles are highly aerial, soaring for hours on end without wingbeat and seemingly without effort, regularly reaching 1,800 m (5,900 ft) and sometimes considerably higher. The purpose of this very high flight is unknown. Their keen eyesight extends into ultraviolet bands.
Feeding on carrion in the Pilbara region of Western Australia
Most prey is captured on the ground in gliding attacks or (less frequently) in the air. Choice of prey is very much a matter of convenience and opportunity; since the arrival of Europeans, the introduced rabbit and brown hare have become the primary items of the eagle's diet in many areas.[8] Larger introduced mammals such as foxes and feral cats are also occasionally taken, while native animals such as wallabies, small kangaroos, possums, koalas, and bandicoots are also preyed on. In some areas, birds such as cockatoos, Australian brushturkeys, ducks, crows, ibises, and even emus are more frequent prey items. Reptiles are less frequently taken, but can include frill-necked lizards, goannas, and brown snakes.
They display considerable adaptability, and have been known to team up to hunt large red kangaroos, to cause goats to fall off steep hillsides and injure themselves, or to drive flocks of sheep or kangaroos to isolate a weaker animal.[
Thanks for the post!