A WEDGE-TAILED eagle that was part of a bird show taking place in a nature park in Australia flew at and attacked a young boy, latching its talons onto his head.
The incident occurred last week at Alice Springs Desert Park in the Northern Territory region of Australia.
The bird was supposed to fly to a perch to have its photo taken, but became agitated by the boy pulling the zipper on his top up and down, according to the person who took a picture of the incident.
Christine O’Connell uploaded a photo of the attack to Instagram, which shows the eagle as though it’s trying to drag the boy away.
“At a nature park in Alice Springs we decided to go to a bird show the young boy in the green kept pulling his zipper up and down,” Christine wrote on Instagram.
“For some reason the Wedge Tailed Eagle did not like it and instead of flying over to the log he is meant to for a photo opportunity he flew straight at the young boy and attacked him.
The show was quickly cancelled and the boy taken off to first aid. Those talons are huge he was a very lucky young boy.
A spokesperson for the park confirmed the incident to The Guardian, saying that a “thorough investigation” was now underway.
“On Wednesday, 6 July, an incident occurred at the Alice Springs Desert Park where an eagle made contact with an audience member,” the spokesperson said.
A thorough investigation regarding the circumstances behind this incident is under way and the eagle will be removed from the show while this investigation is ongoing.
The boy only received superficial injuries and was quickly treated by first aid officers following the incident, the spokesperson said.
The wedge-tailed eagle is Australia’s largest bird of prey, with a wingspan of up to 2.84m. They feed on rabbits and hares as well as other animals such as foxes and sometimes lambs.
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