Do Eagles Really Kidnap Babies?
We all have seen various viral videos on youtube which show eagles kidnapping a human baby boy or girl and flying off with him. There have also been various news articles in several newspapers reporting such cases. But are these stories really true? Do eagles really kidnap babies, or can they?
It is not common for eagles or any big bird to snatch away babies. While there are many stories published in even reputed newspapers like The New York Times, it’s difficult to say how many of them are accurate.
The majority of these stories are from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and bird specialists advise accepting these stories with caution. Even the biggest birds in North America, like the golden eagle, the bald eagle, and great horned owl, seldom attack people and can only lift a few pounds. When the big birds fight wolves and throw goats over cliffs, the birds are moving or pulling the animals rather than airlifting them while flying. Furthermore, when these birds rush in to target larger prey, they often kill the animal on the spot, frequently by smashing it with their claws, and then eat the animal on the spot. This is because of the fact that flying off with a huge animal attempting to get away is typically too dangerous. Therefore the stories of eagles or big birds flying away with children are more likely to be rumours, and we shouldn’t believe them until we get some solid evidence.
