Woman: Eagle flew off with cat

Masslive ^

[Chet 99]

Thursday, July 02, 2009 By LORI STABILE lstabile@repub.com

BELCHERTOWN - Ellen M. Majka was inside her home on Prescott Hill when she saw a bald eagle swoop down into her neighbor's yard.

It was the first time she saw a bald eagle in the neighborhood.

But even more surprising was what she saw in its talons when it flew back up - a black cat.

"I've never seen anything like that in my life. I was shocked. I said, 'Oh my God,'" Majka said.

The incident happened early, just after 6 am. on June 23.

According to eagle experts, a bald eagle capturing a cat is not impossible, but highly unusual.

"I believe it is within the realm of possibility and has been documented elsewhere. Bald eagles are capable of taking domestic cats," William J. Davis, district manager for Worcester County for the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, said Wednesday.

While the main diet of bald eagles is fish, Davis said they are opportunistic and will eat squirrels, turtles, even Canada geese. They are also known to feast on animal carcasses, including deer.

Interestingly, when eaglets were brought to the Quabbin Reservoir in the 1980s from Nova Scotia, wildlife biologists there believed that the adult bald eagles were preying on feral and barn cats that lived near a lake, Davis said.

Ralph E. Taylor, district manager for the Connecticut Valley wildlife district for the state agency, agreed that a bald eagle taking a cat would be unusual.

[Rocco DiPippo]

Hmm. I wonder if, to an eagle, cat tastes like chicken.

[billhilly]

Please send that eagle over to my house.

[Ditter]

I watched a Red Tailed Hawk do the same thing to a squirrel in my back yard. About 20 feet in the air the wiggling squirrel freed himself from the bird and fell to the ground. The hawk did not come back for him and in a couple of minutes the squirrel ran off. It was quite a show.

[Rockingham]

Early one morning, a friend of mine in suburban Naples, Florida was watering a transplanted tree in his front yard before going to work. With a running garden hose in hand and absentmindedly staring down the street, my friend happened to see a Bald Eagle swoop down and, in a quick, smooth motion, hit the poodle, sink its talons in, snap the dog's back, and lift off.

A small, curtailed yelp from the poodle drew the attention of the owner, a white haired matronly woman, who came out of the house clapping her hands and calling for “Pierre . . . Pierre . . .” My friend, a goodhearted sort, went and told the poor woman what had happened. It took some effort to convince her that he was serious.

[bert]

Well, I guess cats are really worthwhile.

First it was coyote bait, now eagles

[patriot08]

I HATE birds of prey. Anything that swoops down on innocent creatures and takes them off to tear them apart..
they should all be hunted to extinction in my opinion.
Ditto alligators, crocks..useless distructive eating machines.
That’s my two cents..ok start the flaming.

[oldsalt]

Eagle are my allies in my ongoing battle with armadillos.

One early AM I came out on the carport in time to see a large Golden Eagle carry off one of those foxhole digging armored-rat armadillos.Hooray for our side!

[Mercat]

I can fly!!!!

[TalonDJ]

That’s my two cents..ok start the flaming.

What do you think the cats do to the bunnies and squirrels they sneak up on? same thing. And it has to be the case or rabbit over population would be a huge problem.

By the way a car hitting a critter crossing the road is about the same. Lets hunt those to extinction too?

[TheOldLady]

ROFL!

You’re bad, and that’s not funny. Much [giggles]

But seriesly, try a different cat litter if you have a litterbox. Cats are very picky about that.

Be sure to use an enzyme cleaner or bleach (if you have a sturdy floor that won’t be damaged by it) to completely remove the odor so the cat doesn’t mistake the inappropriate place as its bathroom. Cats sense of smell is about a bazillion times stronger than ours, so you really have to work at getting rid of the old urine and smell. I can’t emphasize that enough.

Remember that cats do things because of instinct, not to make you angry. They aren’t vindictive, and human failings like that shouldn’t be ascribed to them. Also, you’re smarter than the cat, and with a little research and work, you can alter its behavior until you’re both comfortable with your relationship.

Best of luck to you and your cat, and let the eagle eat its salmon.

[davisfh]

Believe it or not, we have no such constraints where we live. Our property is surrounded by chain-link fence which was reconstructed after Katrina. The only reason that we have it is that our neighbors have “good” dogs. And, as you probably know, a “good” dog is one that craps on someone else’s lawn. The fence solves that problem.

[TheOldLady]

"The choice was between a Turkey and an Eagle. Turkey was considered a more noble bird but Eagle won out."

I bet because eagles have prettier faces and look wise. Let's face it, would you want turkey wattles and fan tails on, say, a fighter jet? A finial on a flagpole? One bird is nobler, the other looks nobler. Some things never change.

[Fawn]

You heard wrong......but I know you don’t care.

[Fawn]

I’v heard that cats kill 50% of the bird population each year....

You heard wrong....the 'bird people' are prejudiced and full of misinformation.

[Richard Kimball]

I had a sea lion living in my attic.

In all my years on FR, I've never seen a post start like that before.

[Fawn]

A neighbors dog keeps breaking through the fence and killed the pet rabbits (Pulled off their legs right through the cages) and killed a pig and some cats. The dog's going to get his though!! And will suffer awhile. :)

The kids are traumatized and devastated.

[TheOldLady]

Thank you for the link, Slings and Arrows. They came for the dogs, and I don’t have a dog, but I will not ignore this. I posted it on the Ohio message board and sent a copy to Hubby, who harasses and harangues the Ohio PTB.

[Slings and Arrows]

My pleasure. It doesn’t matter whether it’s dogs or guns or anything else, big government is all about compulsion.

[mplsconservative]

Horrible story. Our dogs are indoor pooches and when they go outside, I go outside with them, even with the fence. Too many wild critters around here.

[mplsconservative]

I was just laughing about the chicken wire across the top. :)

We don’t have any restrictions regarding fences either. Our backyard is fenced in with black chain link. You’re right. A fence is about keeping other critters out, not keeping our dogs in.