The Insane Biology of: The Harpy Eagle

Credits:
Narrator/Writer: Stephanie Sammann

Imagery courtesy of Getty Images

Music:

Run with the Wolves by Ardie Son
Decisions by ANBR
Secret-pathways by Ardie Son
Horizon by Veaceslav Draganov
Rain by ANBR
Visions by Ardie Son
Saved by Lemon J

References:

[-longboardswordstyle]

Was at a zoo recently and a random duck flew and landed on top of a harpy eagle enclosure. The eagle flew up from underneath and, landing upside down on the roof of the cage, it reached with one of its claws and grabbed the duck through the chain link fencing. It then proceeded to furiously yank at the duck and *ripped it to shreds* pulling it through the few inches of space. I wont go into detail, but it was absolutely horrifying in many many ways..

[lovelandfrog]

I cannot get over how gorgeous this bird is. It’s just beautiful. Incredible animal.

[SirHenryMaximo]

I'm from Brazil, and I heard ranchers telling stories such as about _that_ time their grandpa saw a harpy lifting a newborn calf duting his youth, or _that_ day a harpy snatched a hound in Goiás. Clearly exagerations, wild tales, but it shows the reverence, respect and even fear the Harpy commands on people.

Also, the state police here where I'm from has _Harpia_ as a callsign their helicopters.

[Blaze]

I've heard the harpy eagle described as "about as strong as you can get while still being able to fly", which seems appropriate.

[skytramp]

In our beautiful Guyana, there’s plenty here . Around our airport last year a young one surfaced, it was a magnificent sight .It was so majestic. But you can catch the sight of them around the racing tracks & trails .The sight of this absolutely stunning & smart creature isn’t no foreign sight almost EVERY DAY when you’re around the rural parts of Guyana you can manage to see one or maybe even two .
I’m glad that our people have learned to honor & cherish the rare wildlife we’ve within our country . 🇬🇾

[toastmctoasting]

The fact that humans need stab proof vest to survive one of these guys tells you how deadly they can be

[amphicyon]

I wonder if the Harpy calls weren't only used to identify primates without a response but to actually wear down their awareness overtime by conditioning them to expect calls before seeing the eagle. We might see more of those mix-ups and mindgames if we observed them in areas where primates lived alongside eagles for more than a year.

[thedoruk]

and There are still people that dare to say 'modern dinosaurs are boring' - just take a look at this absolute Unit!

[phdtobe]

The harpy eagle’s ability to maneuver in flight through the trees in the forest when pursuing prey has got to be some kind of animal super power.

[igorschimidt]

The level of the explanation in this video is off the charts, well done!

[morgangreen]

I've been a fan of Harpy's for years now, but this video blew my mind. The amount of intelligence gathered by the eagles during the BCI experiment is huge. Birds are truly in the same conversation as mammals in terms of ingenuity.

[mrjoe]

Could you imagine if a bunch of aliens dropped 2 super predators on a city just to see how the humans adapt to it?

[benservey]

"50 kg of pressure." The engineer inside me really felt that one.

[bonefetcherbrimley]

Harpy Eagles are truly majestic, I hope they're around for many years to come!

So bad ass.

[Term-]

when you talked about the size of their legs and talons, I realized just how massive these birds are.

[Sikeosomanic]

You have the best science channel on the web, hands down. It easily rivals anything I’ve seen on television. I am so damn impressed with every video I’ve seen from your team, and you deserve many millions of subscribers. Thank you for a consistently incredible and enriching source of entertainment and education!

[sujalchopra.]

I honestly am in love with your 'insane biology' series. Your YouTube channel is the only one that provides a mix of behavioural and anatomical biology. There is a borderline between when information becomes boring, and you never seem to cross it. Can't wait to see your next video

[Ebola-Kun]

At some point around 1:17 - 1:20 seconds, the Harpy looks almost identical to some renders of dinosaurs I’ve seen. Different feathering but wow amazing history of life on this planet.

[denzellneblett-marson]

i train a small hawk and the strength hes capable of at his size is unreal i could only imagine what a Harpy could do 😵

[drferry]

We saw a Harpy chick on its nest in eastern Venezuela several years ago, one that had been filmed by the BBC. The chick was as large as an adult, but mostly white and still impressive, 120 feet up in a ceiba tree. Caretakers lived nearby in a cabin and showed us the nest. As we were leaving, we heard a whistled cry, and one of the guys said "adulto!" We hurried back, and there was the female bringing some monkey part to the chick. She looked stared down at us with the fiercest glare I've ever seen from a bird. Gave me the willies!