A young child and three others are recovering after they were attacked by a golden eagle while in Norway.
The incident occurred in Orkland, a small municipality in southern Norway, on Saturday, Sept. 7. The 20-month-old child was playing on a farm when the bird came “out of the blue” and attacked her.
The child’s father, who was not present during the attack, stated her mother and a neighbor rushed to fend off the bird. The angry creature attacked three times.
The golden eagle eventually died after being hit by a piece of wood.
The attack, which was the bird’s fourth on humans within a week, left the child and others needing stitches and medication to treat deep wounds. The child’s father stated she has a couple of stitches in the back of her head. She also has scratch marks from the eagle’s claws under her chin and on her face.
Alv Ottar Folkestad, an eagle expert with BirdLife Norge, revealed the bird likely had a “behavioral disorder,” which triggered the multiple attacks.
“What happened is radically different from normal,” he said. The eagle expert noted that the attacks were likely all by a female eagle born within the past year.
“Details in the plumage make me believe it is the same bird,” he continued. “The plumage means that no two golden eagles are alike,”
Folkestad further explained that over the past few days, there were “favorable weather conditions” with high-altitude winds. This allowed the golden eagle to fly long distances over southern Norway.
Golden Eagle Victims Recalls Terrifying Attack in Southern Norway
Mariann Myrvang, who was attacked days by a golden eagle days before the Saturday incident, spoke about her experience. She recalled crying out for help when “something big and heavy landed” on her shoulder.
“I went down on my knees, because I couldn’t stand up,” she said.
Thankfully, her husband was armed with a branch and chased the golden eagle away. However, one of the bird’s claws went deep into Mariann, causing her to receive a penicillin and a tetanus shot at the hospital.
Another golden eagle victim, Francis Ari Sture, said he thought a human had tried to show him down as he was walking down a steep mountainside. It turned out to be one of the large birds.
“We are staring at each other for, maybe, a whole minute,” Sture stated. “I’m trying to think what’s in its mind.”
The eagle then attacked him five more times. It scratched and clawed the man’s face and arms over 10 to 15 minutes as he ran away.
Despite the ordeal, Sture stated he still wants to continue hiking. “I may be a bit more paranoid, may be looking up more a bit,” he added. “But I’m definitely going back hiking. Maybe not that summit — for a while.”