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Eagles May Be Able to Fight Drones but They're Also Selfish and Dumb

You'd think they'd be able to smash up a drone with ease, but perhaps we're underestimating the drones.

When I first heard that eagles were being trained to attack drones, my initial reaction was, well, I sure like the sound of that. It means us luddites can use them to fight back in the inevitable battle between man and machine, between technology and good old elbow grease. It means the movie that will be made about our meaty struggle against the borg oppressors will be even better, cause it'll feature wing-ed beasts scratching away at the inner wiring of an airborne termination unit, a dog fight between nature and creation. Wow!

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Or, as I found out from Jonny Ames, head honcho over at birds-of-prey sanctuary and conservation area Eagle Heights in Kent, England, it won't be like that at all. In fact, it'll probably be the opposite. The eagles will get absolutely fucked by the drones. But why? Mr. Ames and I chatted about the drone attacks, eagles in general, and why, when it comes down to it, birds of prey are just a bunch of selfish pricks, really.

VICE: Can you tell us what you do at Eagle Heights?
We started about 20 years ago as a small bird of prey center. We built ourselves up to be a bird of prey and wildlife sanctuary as well. At Eagle Heights, our main purpose is education. We do big displays where we fly a bird freely outside. We also go to a lot of schools with birds of prey, country shows, and the odd bit of film work. We have a breeding project, and we do rescue and rehabilitation of wild birds of prey.

Basically everything you can think of to do with birds of prey, then.
I would say so. We even have a bald eagle that flies at Crystal Palace Football Club as the mascot. Her name's Kayla, and she flies at all the home games. We drive her up for each game with two to three members of staff.

Wow. How do you tame an eagle to the point where it's happy to fly around a stadium filled with thousands of people?
There are two ways of doing it. One's called hand-rearing, which is when you have an eagle from a chick, and it only knows humans and doesn't know its parents. It grows up thinking it's a human, and it will bond with you quite well. Hand-reared eagles can also be quite aggressive, because they have no fear of anything whatsoever. It's all basically down to food. It isn't loyalty like a dog. With birds of prey, it's down to trust and food.

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If an eagle is parent-raised, when it first comes out of the aviary, it'll be quite scared. We have a big dark area for them, because when they're in the dark they're quite calm. We go in and—slowly but surely—let them get used to us. Once they fully trust you, they'll fly free and then come back to you for their dinner, basically.

I've been there. In comparison to other intelligent animals, where do eagles rank?
An eagle is nothing like an octopus or a dolphin; it's nowhere near as intelligent. It's not a stupid animal, but again it's not as smart as a parrot, because in the old days, people could train parrots to ride bikes and all sorts of stuff. You wouldn't get an eagle to do that. Because it's a top predator, an eagle is quite fixed into flying and food and not a lot else comes into it.

In the old days, people could train parrots to ride bikes and all sorts of stuff. You wouldn't get an eagle to do that.

What do you think the eagle's primary usefulness to humanity is?
There are a few different ones. In places like Mongolia and Kazakhstan, there's been a long history of golden eagles being used by farmers to kill wolves. And in the olden days people used birds of prey to catch food. That's probably our main thing with eagles.

Sounds like a lot of smashing things up and goring stuff, which also seems to be the aim with the drones.
It's all food association with the drones. What they're doing is teaching a bald eagle that when it catches that drone, it gets fed. That's how they train them.

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How do you feel about using eagles to catch drones? Is it fair?
I think it's a publicity stunt, to be honest. Eagles aren't very maneuverable. If somebody knew what they were doing with a drone, they could outfly an eagle. Welfare-wise, bald eagles, which is what they're using, are very, very tough. There wouldn't really be any injuries, apart from obviously if the propeller hit the eagle in the eye. That would be the main risk.

I get the feeling that the eagles' talons could quite easily crush the drone.
Yeah. The power in an eagle's talons is unbelievable. They would destroy the drone.

What is it about eagles that people like so much, do you think?
I think it's purely because of their sheer size and power. They're the biggest flying killing machines, if you like. In New Zealand, there used to be an eagle called Harpagornis Moorei (Haast's Eagle, now extinct) that would kill humans, because humans would dress up in the feathers of its prey, which the eagle would mistake them for. This eagle was enormous. I think it has all to do with that primal, hunting, pride, and power aspect.

Have you ever had any incidents involving the eagles?
They can be quite aggressive toward the staff. We've never had a problem with the public because they don't associate the public with food, but quite a few of our hand-reared bald eagles, if they don't think you're feeding them quickly enough, they will beat you up to try and get food out of you. People new to flying an eagle will panic and throw the food away from them. The eagle then learns that if it beats you up, you're going to throw food. It's a novice mistake.

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So the best thing to do is to just chill out.
Yeah. I mean, I've been grabbed by them and bitten by them and all sorts of stuff. When you're training eagles, it is part of the job. You have to accept the fact that you're working with a wild animal and now and again they're going to catch you out.

What's the worst injury you've sustained from one of these eagles?
I had my bottom lip split open by a bald eagle. I've also been grabbed in the back of the head with an eagle's talons because I stupidly turned my back to an eagle that didn't like me. Normally it's my mistake. Like I said, there's no danger to the public with eagles. Unless someone was to run up and grab one without a glove on.

Well, that would be fucking stupid, wouldn't it?
Yep.

Lastly, do you think it's OK to use animals for reasons that may also have political connotations, such as the taking down of drones, or even using sniffer dogs?
Yeah I do. I train animals and also have a lot to do with conservation, and I don't see anything wrong with it as long as the person who's in charge knows what they're doing. You get people who ignore the rules and the dangers and they're the sort of people who cause risks.

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