Video has captured two bald eagles apparently stuck together in a tree in Alaska.
Video footage captured by Kerr Will shows the two eagles with their talons interlocked in Kodiak, while his dog barks at the birds.
Will told USA TODAY on Thursday that he saw the birds in the tree as he was out on a hike the morning of the Super Bowl.
“I had just walked by that spot probably 10 minutes ago and they weren’t there,” Will said. “I turned around and headed back and couldn’t believe what I saw.”
‘Never experienced anything like this’
Will said he initially thought it was “one huge bird” but when he took a closer look he realized it was two tangled eagles. He said he quickly made the video and then “tried to figure out what to do.”
“I’d never experienced anything like that before, so I wasn’t sure what the right thing to do was,” Will said.
Fortunately for him shortly after he recorded the video, “the bottom eagle tried to yank free again and finally got loose.”
“They both flew off seemingly unharmed,” Will said.
Two bald eagles interlock talons in Kodiak, Alaska, on Feb. 9, 2025.
Is it unusual for bald eagles to fight?
While the sight was an unusual one for Will, talon-grappling and tumbling is not unusual among bald eagles, the American Eagle Foundation says. The behavior is frequently observed during “pair-bonding, aggression, and play.”
Some of the encounters end with eagles harmed or even killed.
“Sometimes they cannot “un-lock” and crash to the ground together,” the foundation says.
With a wingspan of up to 7 1/2- feet long, the bald eagle is Alaska’s largest resident bird of prey, according to Alaska Fish and Wildlife.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Watch as 2 bald eagles lock talons in Kodiak, Alaska tree
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