It took him almost a quarter of an hour to escape from the pecks and claws. While flying above the Bozel valley in Savoie, a paraglider was suddenly attacked by a furious golden eagle.
The events occurred on April 6, reports the Dauphiné Libéré. The experienced pilot had to fight hard to escape the raptor, obviously determined to kill him. For what reasons ? Probably because he was approaching his nest.
Attacked from behind
“He attacked me from behind, around the helmet,” the victim confided to the regional daily. The feathered attacker didn’t stop there. He then grabbed both of the pilot’s arms to scratch his skin through his clothes. Results: around fifty wounds on the body. The paraglider nevertheless managed to stay the course for the duration of the assault.
According to observers, the golden eagle behaved “normally”. “During the breeding season, it defends its territory against all flying predators,” explains Dauphiné Adrien Lambert, team coordinator at the LPO.