When a Massachusetts Youtube user decided to take his quadcopter drone for a flight over a park, something amazing happened. Watch as this large hawk spots the drone and swoops in to take it down.
A GoPro attached to the drone captured the amazing moment. New, smaller cameras and drone footage have allowed us to see the world in from amazing new vantage points (such as this clip of an eagle flying from the top of the tallest building in the world).
However, this hawk clearly is not a fan of drones. When the loudly buzzing drone invades the hawk’s territory, the huge bird-of-prey lashes out. The hawk flew away unharmed from the incident, according to witness Christopher Schmidt.
In a strange turn of events, certain police departments are attempting to utilize the killer power of these birds of prey to potentially police the air.
Police in the Netherlands are now training eagles to take down drones flying in restricted airspace.
“There are situations in which drones are not allowed to fly,” said Mark Wiebe, innovation manager at the Dutch National Police Corps in a press release. “There was a case where an air ambulance tried to land but could not because someone out there flew a drone.”
After seeing the success that Dutch police are having with the program, the UK’s Scotland Yard is planning on emulating the plan.
This is not the first time we have seen eagles taking down drones. Wild eagles often attack drones mid-air, thinking the aircraft to be a smaller bird – which the raptors prey upon. Watch the video below to see various examples of when nature fights back at these electronic newcomers to the skyway.
