The golden eagle is one of the fiercest birds in the northern hemisphere. They are widely distributed from Asia to Europe, then to America and Africa.
At present, six subspecies have been described in the world, and golden eagles in different regions are considered as different subspecies. Except for obvious differences in body shape, other morphological differences among different subspecies are not particularly great.
They are all black and brown in appearance, but there are some pale golden feathers on their backs-that's the origin of their names.
Among them, the Asian Golden Eagle is the largest subspecies-it is distributed in China, and the female will be a little bigger. The largest Asian golden eagle has a naked length of about1.2m, a weight of 6.35kg and a wingspan of more than 2.6m..
Due to the destruction of the natural environment, the number of wild animals has dropped sharply, and the diet of golden eagles has also changed a lot. In previous investigations, a large part of the golden eagle's diet came from ungulates, such as deer, sheep, roe deer, pigs and so on. , accounting for about 65,438+00% of its total diet.
But now their prey are basically the same national protected animals as themselves, and their food sources have become smaller animals, such as rabbits, squirrels, reptiles and so on.
For the golden eagle, the main way to deal with those small animals is to sneak attack. They can dive from the air at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour, and it is almost impossible for those small animals to escape when they are caught by it.
However, the golden eagle will have a fierce battle with those animals bigger than itself.
This structure is very suitable for long-term grasping and bringing prey back to the nest. At the same time, you can have super grip, which is very useful for dealing with people bigger than yourself.
The grasping power of golden eagle claws is amazing. Many teams have tested the grip of the golden eagle, and the data of the grip range from 400 pounds per square inch to 750 pounds per square inch.
What is this concept? Adult human males have a grip of about 70 pounds per square inch, while adult lions have a bite of about 650 pounds per square inch.
The grasping power of a golden eagle may be more than 10 times that of a human hand, even greater than the biting power of a lion, and as long as it is unwilling, it is difficult for its prey to break free.
Under normal circumstances, the golden eagle can kill prey twice its own size and take away animals about 10 kg. They can be handled, so it should be true to take away lambs and calves.
According to Scottish shepherds, the animals that killed most of their flocks were not wolves, but golden eagles. About 80% lambs died because they were attacked by golden eagles.
Besides lambs, there are many reports about golden eagles attacking calves. In the 1980s, shocking events even happened in Mexico. A cow weighing 1 10 Jin was killed by the golden eagle, which was 10 times the weight of the golden eagle.
Therefore, it is no joke to be attacked by a golden eagle. Their speed allows them to attack quietly, and their claws and beaks make them really capable of killing prey much bigger than themselves.