From the Teller: Golden Eagles are impressive predators
image courtesy of Jim and Estelle Shuttleworth
Working on a wildlife refuge often provides a glimpse of how unforgiving nature is when it comes to predator-prey relationships.
Most species of wildlife all share one thing in common — staying alive from one day to the next. I have observed hooded mergansers eating fish, great blue herons spearing frogs with their sharp bills, coyotes chasing ground squirrels and prairie falcons knocking mallards out of the sky, but by far the most impressive predator-prey encounter I stumbled upon was a golden eagle taking down a white-tailed deer fawn.
While I did not witness the actual take down, I came across two adult golden eagles feeding on a freshly killed fawn. Inspection of the carcass revealed talon marks on the face and ears of the fawn with talon puncture marks on the backside of the neck. Since this was around 9 a.m. in full daylight and the majority of the fawn was still intact, I concluded the kill was quite recent and the eagles were likely responsible.