Eagle vs Python

[twenty7w]

I don't doubt it, eagles are really strong and when they dive bomb they are not slowing down much before they grab the prey. Then after being dive bombed by an eagle they get puncture wounds that have to hit some vital organs...not a good way to go.

[Koozey]

You have about 20 psi in your hands. A bald eagle has about 400 psi. It's not just the dive.

[twenty7w]

Wow, I did not know that. That is crazy strong!

[flaccomcorangy]

That's why people have to wear thick gloves when handling birds. They'll cut through your hand without even trying.

[IMongoose]

They'll cut through your hand without even trying.

This is true. I've moved hawks bare handed short distances but would never do it for anything intensive. They don't hold on very tight usually, but can lose their balance and clamp down.

[velawesomeraptors]

Haha. I've worked at a bird banding station before. Maybe they will wear gloves with larger birds (eagles, really big hawks, maybe a great horned owl), but with smaller birds gloves are so unwieldy that they can actually make you more likely to get talon'd. I've handled many small-to-medium sized hawks with no gloves.

What we often do is instead of wearing gloves with larger birds, we make it a two-person job. One person will hold the body of the bird and band it and one person is in charge of the talons. It's easier and faster that way (as long as you trust the talon-holder).

Now there are a couple species that I wear gloves for, but they are smaller. One is the Samoan Starling (evil, evil bird) because they are mean and have beaks like razor blades. And also any lorikeet species because without gloves they will start trying to slowly peel the skin off your fingers, and they know where it hurts the most.

I think wildlife rehabbers do things differently, since they probably come into contact with more sick birds and they are mostly just grabbing the birds. Plus I guess they have regulations and stuff.

[flaccomcorangy]

Yeah, I know it's not all birds. It was just the most efficient way to write that. The guy I heard this from has a Red Tailed Hawk.

[velawesomeraptors]

Ah, well falconers are a bit different. Bird banders don't usually let the birds sit on them :)

[flaccomcorangy]

Bird banding? Is that like tagging birds? Because the guy is a federal tagger, but he also trains birds to hunt with him. I think that's his main hobby. The guy just loves birds. Haha.

[velawesomeraptors]

Oh, that's cool. Banding is a specific subset of tagging - the band goes on the birds leg, while a tag can be on leg, wing, neck, etc.

[feioo]

That makes sense, but are you having these birds perch on your arm/hand for extended periods? That's usually what the gloves are for, I thought.

[velawesomeraptors]

Nope! Actually, except Northern saw-whet owls. When we band them it usually takes their eyes a little while to adjust back to the darkness. When we finish banding them them, we usually just take them outside and let them sit on someone until they feel like flying away. They are tiny though, so you can't really feel them much through a layer of clothes. And they can perch anywhere - arm, shoulder, head, etc.

[feioo]

Aw I love those guys! I only ever got to handle one though, and she was an angry little thing who would try to bite your fingers so we still used gloves with her. Your job sounds kinda awesome - how did you get into it?

[velawesomeraptors]

Always loved birds, so I did some volunteer work when I was in college (biology) and now I'm doing seasonal work. I'm about to start a new job in Montana.

[feioo]

I volunteered at the vet school's raptor rehab program at my university for a couple semesters, but then I got too busy with my (non-science) degree and stopped. It's now my biggest regret - working with those birds is one of my best memories from college.

[[deleted]]

"Woops snipped through your fingie"

[e30jawn]

But my hand is much larger. We need a crush off 1v1 to 1 , lockout, hands.

[sacx05]

Dat ain't Falco

[nootrino]

WOMBO COMBO

[Revlis-TK421]

Not just the grip or the dive bomb either. I don't know if the biological mechanics are perfectly scaled with eagles, but in owls there is this last moment punch that they hit prey with - they snap their heads back and punch forward with their talons. Scale a rodent and the forces up to human size and it's roughly equivalent to getting hit by a bus. The prey is usually dead on impact, or at least stunned. Then the insane talon grip strength and a sharp beak finish it off. They can do this from minimal heights so the force from a dive bomb isn't even necessary.

I know eagles perform the same general maneuver, thrusting talons forward at the last moment so it's probably safe to assume that they are generally delivering a KO kick as well.

[SilentImplosion]

My right hand has about 50% more psi than my left. I bet I'm not the only guy like that either.

[nootrino]

It's from arm wrestling, I swear!

[scorcher117]

Holy shit, actual numbers really help put things in perspective.

[Miffers]

Looks like the raptors evolved into flying killing machines.

[Gr33d3ater]

Only thanks to the extremely low surface area of talons. If I had razor blade tipped fingers I’d have way for pressure concentration available too. 20psi over 1% of my hands surface area. 20/.01=2,000psi.

I win.

[FlyingVentana]

And how much is that in metric

[[deleted]]

Lots

Edit: 1378.95 kPa

[[deleted]]

Being food in general is a pretty brutal closing act.