Lord of the skies
Duel: eagle against drone over Lake Michigan – the eagle remains the clear winner
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Bald eagles are reluctant to dispute their territory
© moose henderson / Getty Images
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A bald eagle apparently feels threatened in its territory by a state drone over Lake Michigan – now the expensive device is lying on the bottom of the lake. In Michigan, people react with humor, but also want to learn from the incident.
The US state of Michigan uses drones, among other things, to get a better view of land from the air. But those responsible seem to have forgotten who the real master of the air is. There was now a direct duel between a bald eagle and a drone over Lake Michigan. The clear winner: the eagle.
In this case, the drone was used to control erosion on the coast. Apparently, the eagle circling over the lake felt disturbed in its territory and attacked the aircraft. The $ 950 drone is now resting on the bottom of the lake. The incident occurred in July, reports the local newspapers “The Detroit Free Press” and “The Detroit News”.
The drone is now on the bottom of the lake
On the ground that day, Hunter King of the Michigan Environmental Protection Agency was in charge of the drone. He reports that after seven minutes in the air, the device suddenly slowed down. To find out what the problem was, King switched on the video camera built into the drone and was able to track down the culprit: a bald eagle. The population of the animals in the area has increased significantly in recent times.
King could no longer save the drone, it even took several days until the location of the crash could be located. Search operations on land were unsuccessful, and a couple who had watched the fight in the air could not help either. When the exact coordinates of the crash site were available, it became clear that the drone had crashed into the lake.
In Michigan, people react with humor
The expensive device is thus irretrievably lost. In Michigan, however, the incident is taken with humor. “The bird is now singing: ‘I fought the law, and I won’,” tweeted MP Beau M. LaFave, referring to a song by The Clash. The environmental authority announced that they had checked whether the eagle was liable for the loss. No chance. “Nature is a cruel and merciless mistress,” said a spokesman.
The motive for the attack would be turf wars or simply hunger. The eagles would sometimes mistake the drones for seagulls. For the future, Michigan has decided to only send drones into the air that don’t look like seagulls.
Swell: “The Detroit News” / “The Detroit Free Press”
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