An Eaglet Watches His Father Hunt And Then Tries It Out For the First Time

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A child’s first moments are the most incredible things we can experience with them. A baby opening its eyes and seeing its mother for the first time, a baby’s first steps as they teeter back and forth, or a child’s first time riding their bike as they wobble down the street. We have never had these moments before and must cherish them while they happen.

Like humans have firsts with their children, animals do the same. Let’s see an eaglet have his first at watching his father hunt before he tries it out in the video below.

Eagle Hunt Sighting

The short YouTube clip at the top of this blog post shares footage of an eagle in the middle of a hunt. The Jungle Journey YouTube page filmed, documented, and shared this video on their channel. Their most recent shorts are of spiders, buffaloes, grasshoppers, and arctic foxes. 

Eagle Teaching Eaglet to Hunt

As the video starts, we see a mature eagle hunting for ducks on this pond. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, “Most prey is captured from the surface of the water, but bald eagles often harass ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) in flight to drop fish that they have captured.” 

This father’s eaglet, who is eager to learn, is high up in the tree. It is important for him to learn from his father before attempting to hunt by himself. The father executes a perfect dive and grabs his prey. 

Now it is the eaglet’s turn. He swoops down and takes off. As he glides over the water, he is overwhelmed by the choices in front of him. He makes a selection and attempts to grab it but continually misses. Such is the nature of young eaglet learning to hunt for his survival.

What Do Eagles Eat?

There are estimated to be more than 60 species of the eagle. They are widespread worldwide, living in Africa, Asia, Central America, North America, South America, Eurasia, and Europe. 

Their laser-like eyesight gives them the ability to be extremely successful hunters. The National Library of Medicine goes so far as to say that “​​Birds of prey especially eagles and hawks have a visual acuity two to five times better than humans.” Their vision and hunting abilities make them superb at hunting many types of fish, osprey, mammals, and various reptiles. 

And as we can see from the video posted at the top, this eaglet will become a great hunter in no time.