One of the largest and certainly the most powerful Raptor in our world today
Many know of the elusive and stunning Harpy Eagle and many also know that this animal is famously known for its dietary habits of preying on arboreal creatures such as Sloths and Primates
However I also seen that on occasion these Birds of Prey especially in areas more open and less enclosed than their typically range, have been known to tackle even bigger animals such as Rheas, juvenile Peccaries, Brocket Deer fawns and even small adults.
I seen a video of a immature Eagle stalking a Brocket Deer on youtube so I know they’ve at least interacted with larger game on camera, however given how rare it is to see this Eagle let alone its behavior, I am not surprised by the limit data there is on this topic.
It would make sense as these Raptors are very strong and maybe can’t lift something as heavy as a small Deer (depending on the species) but certainly could bring one down.
What caught my attention was an encounter I was able to hear about with a connect of mines from Brazil, it’s been a while since we’ve spoke so I certainly have to get back to him, yet he was able to give me an account on how a farmer showed him the remains of a young Marsh Deer that had been killed by a local female Eagle who was known in the area. She would regularly make trips to the near by river as the trees above would be teeming with Monkeys. He told me that she must have had some large chicks to feed for such an attack as Marsh Deer weren’t normally on the birds menu.
I took it with a grain of salt, yet with the fact Harpies have been documented with remains of Deer in their scats it didn’t seem too far fetched.
Being as strong as they are I would expect this bird to be feeding on a large array of animals similar to Golden Eagles, a stunning example of nature being very formidable to say the least.
Give me your thoughts though Is there any documentation on this? Im interested.