Posted on 02/04/2016 7:53:03 AM PST by w1n1
Yes, hunting deer with eagles is a real thing in Hungary.
Indeed they do, and the eagles are the perfect tool for the job.
The apex bird of prey anywhere just has to be the eagle. With massive power and large sharp talons, this magnificent bird of prey has all the tools it needs to down big game.
These hunters in Hungary have teamed up with eagles to pursue deer. With amazing gracefulness, the eagles descent upon their prey and make the kill.
Human partners move in quick to make sure the eagles are safe. Then the eagles get the first of the tasty venison, as they earned it.
Watch as these birds prey down deer with amazing power and precision.
must be very large eagles and very small deer.
How can you hunt with he eagles when you’re down here with the turkeys...?
Here in Michigan we call those fawns...
Outdoor list.
“must be very large eagles and very small deer.”
Go watch the video.
I’m not thinking that they would be very good against the elk we have out here in Colorado. But I bet they could be good at spotting the elk and signaling the hunter as to their location.
Which is why they are less hungary in Hungary.
Reminds me of the Hungarian who kept asking questions of the enlightened Zen priest: a real Budapest, he was.
I stand corrected : average sized eagle and a small deer (fawn?).
They must love it. It's just a different kind of veal.
Incredible birds of prey.
Yeah...I can't imagine an eagle would fare too well against a 200 lb. 10-pointer using its antlers to destroy the bird.
Plenty of youtube videos of eagles taking down wolves, I think in Mongolia.
Good sized eagles on small Roe deer - looks like fun. Hungary has a deep hunting tradition - I saw a program where they were pass shooting huge wild boars from stands with big bore rifles, .338 and up. The lodge was fantastic with some ceremonial type activities and banquet.
nope- normal sized eagles , and normal sized deer- Golden eagles are very fierce creatures- fearless- Check out youtube where they use them for hunting wolves too
There id however used to be eagles that were so large they hunted an extinct bird that was something like 14 feet tall- when the skulls of the extinct eagle are set next to those of current ones, they are dwarfed
It is how the Kahn Boys were able to go about conquering all there was to conquer, falconry. Birds caught the armies food so the men just kept moving forward.
No need for a constant resupply effort,
A famous hunting eagle from Wisconsin.
Old Abe the War EagleOne of the most well known figures in Wisconsin from the Civil War is Old Abe, an American bald eagle who served as the mascot for the Eighth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He participated in over thirty battles, narrowly avoiding significant wounds on several occasions.
During the war, he became a rallying point to Union troops and an anathema to Confederate soldiers, who called him the Yankee Buzzard and set bounties on him. His service to the Union resulted in widespread fame, and his life after the war reflected the esteem with which Wisconsin and other states held him. While fire ultimately took Old Abe’s life and physical remains, his legacy still remains and can be seen to this day around Wisconsin and the United States.
This exhibit seeks to shed light on Old Abe’s origins, wartime service, post-war life, and the ways in which he lives on today.
...snip
Old Abe saw his share of fighting during his time in service. The first major action the Eighth Wisconsin experienced took place at Farmington (Mississippi) in May 1862. During the battle, Captain Perkins ordered James McGinnis, who carried Old Abe, to the rear for protection. Later in the battle, the regiment took cover from Confederate artillery fire. McGinnis realized that he was out of the range of the artillery and did not lie down with some of the others in the company. Old Abe, imitating the men, leapt down from his perch. Seeing this, McGinnis picked him up off the ground and placed him back on his perch, only to have him jump back off the perch to the ground. After several attempts to get Old Abe to remain on his perch, McGinnis reluctantly joined the mascot, taking cover on the ground. When the regiment rose from cover, Old Abe leapt back on his perch and flapped his wings to convey his readiness.
While the Eighth was at Camp Clear Creek after the fall of Corinth in late 1862, eagle-bearer Thomas Hill gave Old Abe relative freedom, a rarity in the field. This “liberty†allowed Old Abe to cause a great deal of mischief. Some of his adventures in camp included tipping over fire pails full of water to the frustration of soldiers who had to refill them, chasing large insects that caught his eye through camp, learning to play catch with soldiers as they rolled round bullets along the ground, visiting the sutler’s tent, ambush-ing freshly laundered clothes left out to dry, and raiding the provisions of various companies within the boundaries of the camp. Old Abe also became drunk on at least two occasions from spirits that soldiers left unattended. Like his brethren in the wild, Old Abe enjoyed any opportunity to be near water. Hill and others often accompanied Old Abe to Clear Creek where he could enjoy the stream.
Whether on the march, in the field, or at camp, Old Abe remained constantly aware of his surroundings. On at least one occasion, he raised an alarm about a rebel courier while the Eighth was near Bayou Rapide (Louisiana). This alertness even applied to strangers who tried to approach him. It has been documented that Old Abe was not fond of strangers attempting to pet him, but appeared to derive pleasure from contact with men in uniform. Even years later, men of the Eighth could approach Old Abe without any hesitation about how they would be received by their old friend.
The Eighth’s initial three-year enlistment came to an end in the summer of 1864, and Old Abe joined the reenlisting soldiers on their trip back to Wisconsin for a furlough. Upon returning to the field in late July or early August 1864, the men who had remained at camp almost did not recognize the eagle. Old Abe had achieved maturity, and the white head and tail feathers that came with it, while on furlough. With the original enlistments coming to an end, the men decided that Old Abe, who had also survived three years of war, would not reenlist. They struggled to choose a permanent home for the eagle, with proponents for Eau Claire, Madison, and even Washington, DC. In the end, a unanimous vote from the entire regiment presented Old Abe to state authorities in Madison.
Below is a list of the battles and skirmishes in which Old Abe fought while serving with the Eighth Wisconsin.
While Old Abe did not shed any blood during the Civil War, there were several close calls. At the Battle of Corinth, a minie ball severed the leather cord connecting the eagle to his perch, setting him loose on the battlefield. Old Abe flew down the Federal lines with eagle-bearer David McLain chasing after him. Upon seeing the famed eagle flying down the enemy lines, many Confederate soldiers attempted to shoot him down. Later, many stories and rumors of his exploits during this battle arose.
Some of Old Abe’s supposed actions during this brief taste of freedom including carrying out “aerial reconnaissance of the Confederated lines, delivering messages for some of the commanding officers in the field, and rallying the Union forces by soaring over them and screaming his famed war cry. One story is believed to hold some basis in fact. It involves Confederate General Sterling Price, who upon seeing Old Abe flying along the Union lines, offered a bounty to his men for the capture of the eagle, dead or alive. According to the story, he stated that Old Abe was worth more to Union morale than a whole brigade or a dozen battle flags.
In reality, Old Abe’s famous flight lasted roughly fifty feet before McLain caught the eagle in his arms and quickly exited the battlefield. Old Abe lost several wing and tail feathers from the incident, but escaped otherwise unscathed. Following the battle, his wings were clipped to prevent similar mishaps in the future. McLain resigned his place as eagle-bearer in protest of the procedure.
Old Abe’s other documented close call came while he and the Eighth participated in the Vicksburg campaign. During the siege, a Confederate minie ball traveled down the eagle’s neck and chest, removing the feathers along its path. If the ball had hit at a different angle, or if Old Abe had been facing a slightly different direction, he would have been much more severely wounded and possibly killed. Instead, he merely suffered a wound in the webbing of his left wing, leaving behind a round hole. According to records, neither he nor his eagle-bearers suffered any significant injury while engaged in combat.
Old Abe survived the war, returning to Wisconsin in 1864 where he resided in the state Capital building, cared for by loving handlers for the remainder of his life. He attended both the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and the 1880 Grand Army of the Republic National Encampment. Abe died of smoke inhalation from a fire in the Capital building in 1881, but his remains were preserved and sat upon a perch above the legislative assembly in the Capital Building until the structure was completely destroyed by yet another fire in 1904. A sculpted likeness of him still oversees the acts of the Wisconsin General Assembly.
A statue of Old Abe adorns the crown of the Wisconsin Memorial monument at the Vicksburg National Battlefield Military Park, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
The 101st Infantry Division (as the unit was known before getting their wings) was stationed in Wisconsin after WWI and prior to being converted into one of the Army’s “first strike†parachute infantry units before entering WWII.
The black shield upon which Old Abe’s screaming head is displayed is also a homage to the fabled “Iron Brigade†that was comprised of units from the upper Midwest (although the 8th Wisconsin was not a part of that brigade). In the accompanying photograph you see the shield has two attachments. The “AIRBORNE†tab above the shield denotes that the Division is still fully parachute qualified; and the white side wings are the “Wings of Pegasus†that symbolize the Division’s newest role as additionally being airmobile in that they can also fast strike via helicopter-borne assault.
On what some might perceive to be a somewhat less glorious note, Old Abe was also incorporated into the international symbol of the J. I. Case Implement Company of Racine, although the symbol was formally retired in 1969.
I believe Old Abe was a golden eagle, not a bald eagle, but no matter.
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