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I’m smart enough to realise that shaking hands with a Bald Eagle is a bad idea because their talons have a deadly grasp.
This week, I witnessed their ferocious grasp on the skies several hundred feet above me.
I’m standing near the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge in Kingston, New York, not far from the Hudson River, when I notice a bird with a tremendous wingspan.
When I see the white head and tail of a Bald Eagle in the wild, my mouth drops open, as it does for most others.
The eagle’s strong wingbeats indicate that it is speeding toward its destination, a red squirrel in both talons.
It’s most likely a feast for the hungry eaglets.
My claws are more powerful than yours
While I’m admiring this magnificent raptor, I notice another enormous bird approaching.
A Red-tailed Hawk has dive-bombed the eagle this time.
I’m now witnessing this spectacular battle unfold above me.
The eagle lets go of the squirrel in its left talon while keeping a strong grip on it in its right talon as the hawk attacks the eagle in an effort to steal its supper.
The eagle then uses its left leg as a weapon, striking the hawk and shoving it out of the way.
The hawk was on its way with a single hard thrust.
The hawk returns for a second effort, but never gets close enough to the squirrel to catch it.
The Bald Eagle emerges victorious and continues his squirrel feast.
The Talons of an Eagle’s Fierce Gripping Power
And it made me think about a raptor’s talons, which have incredible gripping capability.
The feet of a raptor are fantastic hunting tools.
Raptor is derived from the Latin word “rapere,” which meaning “to seize by force.”
Both eagles and hawks have two massive talons on their first and second toes, which help them maintain a firm grip on their prey.
They prefer to consume live prey.
The leg muscles, tendons, and bones give an eagle’s grip its strength.
When the tendons in an eagle’s legs contract, the muscles in the bird’s talons close.
Tendon sheaths encase the tendons, and both the tendons and the tendon sheaths have little ridges.
When an eagle’s tendon contracts, its ridges and sheaths interlock, providing a “ratchet” effect that allows the bird to maintain its talons locked for long periods of time while subduing enormous prey.
As a result, an eagle’s grip should be dreaded.
The Raptor with the Most Powerful Grip
A Bald Eagle’s gripping power is 10 times that of an adult human hand, according to scientists at HawkQuest, an environmental education group in Colorado.
A Bald Eagle’s force per square inch can reach 400 pounds (psi).
When I look up a raptor’s gripping strength on the internet, I find unscientific study focused on five bird species with the highest talon crush rates, which includes some of the world’s most dangerous raptors.
The data show that raptors’ psi gripping strength fluctuates, however the value is an average of multiple sources.
These figures are not scientifically proved, but they do demonstrate the strength of a Bald Eagle’s grip.
Great Horned Owls have a pressure of 500 pounds per square inch.
The Philippine Eagles have a psi of above 500.
Harpy Eagles have a psi of 503-598.
Gold Eagles have a pressure range of 400-791 psi.
Bald Eagles have been known to have a grip pressure of up to 823 psi, while HawkQuest says that it’s more likely that the grip pressure of a Bald Eagle is between 300 and 400 psi.
Finally, a Bald Eagle should never be arm wrestled.
So, in the bird world, the hawk I mentioned before is unable to free the squirrel from the formidable grasp of the Bald Eagle.
The eagle isn’t going to let go of that squirrel until it’s ready.
It was incredible to watch the natural world unfold above me and use it as motivation to study more about the terrifying power of a Bald Eagle’s talons.
Another reason to be awestruck by these magnificent birds in the wild, as well as to appreciate and conserve Bald Eagles and other animals at all costs.
You safeguard the world by projecting the birds! Let us all get along.
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