A golden eagle has been euthanized in Norway after it attacked at least four people, including a toddler, during a series of incidents in early September. CBS NewsThe young bird repeatedly attacked humans over a five-day period, sparking concern in the region.
One of the victims was a 20-month-old girl who was playing on her family’s farm in the central Trøndelag region on September 7. The girl was attacked several times while her mother and a neighbor tried to scare the bird away, the report said. The Guardian.
The girl’s father, who was not present during the attack, said the mother “jumped and grabbed” the eagle, but had to struggle to free the girl from its grip. “It came out of nowhere,” the father said. NRKThe girl was taken to a local hospital and required several stitches to treat her injuries.
Just two days before the boy’s attack, a bicycle messenger named Francis Ari Sture was attacked by the eagle while hiking up a steep hillside. Sture described being attacked five times in a span of 10 to 15 minutes. He told the AP that during the attack, he feared he would lose consciousness and that the eagle would “start eating me.” Sture eventually made it to safety and sought medical treatment.
On September 5, a woman named Mariann Myrvang was also attacked by the eagle. She recalled feeling something “big and heavy” fall on her shoulders, forcing her to her knees. Her husband managed to fend off the bird with a fallen tree branch, and Myrvang was treated in a hospital afterwards.
Following the attacks, Kåre Vinterdal, a forest ranger from Orkdal, confirmed: VG Newspaper that the eagle was euthanized after the incident involving the boy. Alv Ottar Folkestad, an eagle expert at BirdLife Norge, He told the AP that the bird likely had a “behavioral disorder,” noting that its actions were “radically different from normal.”
Golden eagles are known for their hunting prowess, with the ability to reach speeds of up to 190 kilometres per hour during a dive. While they can be used to hunt large animals such as deer, attacks on humans are extremely rare and unusual.