There was a crash landing Sunday at the Duluth International Airport, but it didn’t involve airplanes. Rather, it was two bald eagles, which were fighting in midair when they locked talons. In a rare spectacle of nature, they were unable to disengage in time before crashing to the runway.
“Apparently, mature eagles will sometimes fight over territories,” Randy Hanzal, a Minnesota conservation officer, told GrindTV in an email. “They will do battle in the air, crashing into each other and grabbing an intruding eagle with their talons.
“Usually, they will let go of each other before hitting the ground, but in this case, they had the talons so deeply imbedded in each other they may have been unable to let go.”
This would have been a sight to witness. I'm always impressed by the size of these birds (and their talons).
I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.
I've seen Redtail Hawks and Osprey do that but they didn't crash.
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coanbru wrote:@chumley They were actually distant cousins.
So apparently your cousins are from Kentucky (or West Virginia)? (I was trying to keep it HAZ-friendly, but I'm pretty sure that "fighting" was part of something that isn't actually fighting :whistle: )
I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.
@chumley
As a follow-up to the story, the two Eagles were freed with one flying away, apparently unhurt, the other had minor cuts and lacerations that are being tended to by the Minnesota Raptor Center. Once healthy, it will be released however not within the Duluth area to prevent a recurrence of the argument
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They were actually distant cousins. 
