Photo: KETTS NEWS
This photo was taken sometime during the last week of February near Ben More on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. A birdwatcher who didn't want to be named, so a golden eagle with and 8-foot wingspan snatch a lamb from a hillside.
The birdwatcher recounted the sighting: “There were a few other cars parked close by and some eagles circling, possibly by an eyrie.
“Suddenly this massive eagle swooped into view. We could see it was carrying something beneath it and my wife, who had binoculars, thought it was a white mountain hare.
“As it got closer, I said to her, ‘That’s no hare, it’s a lamb’. It was a very unusual sight and a bit sad for the lamb, but that’s nature. It’s certainly a sight that neither of us will forget.”
It is thought that the lamb belonged to a flock of 1,700 kept by Donald MacLean, who farms 10,000 acres on the island. Mr. MacLean said, “This is a hugely significant photograph, catching the eagle in the act. It proves eagles are carrying off lambs, evidence that farmers need to make their point.”
It is for such a reason that the birdwatcher refused to divulge the exact location of the sighting, for fear that angry farmers would raid the eagles' nests. Local farmers are upset over a recent program that aims to reintroduce white-tailed sea eagles to the region. Britain's largest bird of prey is thought to have taken more than 200 lambs on one Highland peninsula in a single year.
Indeed, farmers were probably glad when the golden eagle went extinct in Scotland due to hunting during the Victorian era, and the species was reintroduced to Scotland from Norway in 1975. Despite the fact that there are only 30 breeding pairs in Scotland, some poisoned carcasses were discovered last year and an outcry over the poisonings led to the establishment of special protection areas for golden eagles.
This picture lends credence to the theory that known species of giant birds could be responsible for many supposed Thunderbird reports in which birds carried of pigs or children.
SOURCES AND MORE INFORMATION: The Telegraph
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