Learning about the Golden Eagle

When we were at the San Diego Safari Park, we had the opportunity to learn more about Golden Eagles thanks to this animal encounter.

The golden eagle is the largest bird of prey in North America. It can dive at speeds of over 150 miles per hour when it spots a tasty morsel down below. They snatch up their prey with extremely sharp talons.

This beautiful specimen was using that strong beak to untie herself from her handler. She was also making it known that she did not like the microphone. (The handler eventually had to set down the microphone as the eagles antics were a bit too distracting. Thankfully, she had a nice loud voice.)

Golden eagles weigh between 5 and 15 pounds. They have a wingspan of 6 to 7.5 feet.

These majestic birds appear to mate for life. Their territory has been known to cover up to 60 square miles. The females lay between 1 and 4 eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs which can take 40 to 45 days to hatch. The baby birds usually leave the next at around 3 months.

It was so much fun watching this beautiful golden eagle during the animal encounter.

She definitely had her own ideas of where she wanted to be. The handler did end up ending the presentation a little early as the golden eagle decided she was done. I appreciated the fact that the handler listened to what the bird wanted instead of pushing things.