The eagle with talons longer than a grizzly bear's claws
This eagle has talons longer than a grizzly bear's claws.
Which one is REALLY true about the Harpy Eagle?
The short version
The harpy eagle's rear talons grow over 5 inches — longer than a grizzly's claws — with a grip strong enough to crush bone. It snatches monkeys and sloths from the canopy, flying off with prey as heavy as itself, raises a double feather crest, and has a ~7-foot wingspan.
Why it's so weird
- ✓The Harpy Eagle has rear talons that can grow over five inches long — longer than a grizzly bear's claws.
- ✓The Harpy Eagle has a grip strong enough to crush bone.
- ✓The Harpy Eagle snatches monkeys and sloths straight out of the rainforest canopy.
- ✓The Harpy Eagle can fly off carrying that weighs as much as the eagle itself.
- ✓The Harpy Eagle raises a crown of feathers into a striking double crest, giving it an almost owl-like face.
- ✓The Harpy Eagle has a wingspan of around seven feet, yet still flies fast through tight, tangled jungle.
The Harpy Eagle is about 1.6× as long as a 7-year-old! 🤯
The full story
This eagle has talons longer than the claws of a grizzly bear. Meet the harpy eagle, one of the most powerful birds of prey on the entire planet. Its rear talons can grow over five inches long, longer than a bear's claws, and its grip is strong enough to crush bone. It uses that grip to snatch monkeys and sloths straight out of the rainforest canopy, flying off with prey that can weigh as much as the eagle itself. When it is curious or alarmed, it raises a crown of feathers into a striking double crest, giving it an almost owl-like, alien face. Despite a wingspan of around seven feet, it can still fly fast through tight, tangled jungle. To the animals of the canopy, it is a silent, feathered nightmare dropping from above. Follow for more weird animal facts.
A harpy eagle's crushing grip doesn't really come from its feet - it comes from big, strong muscles higher up in its legs. Those muscles pull on tough, rope-like tendons that run down and snap the toes shut, like strings closing a claw. Because all that squeezing force is aimed at the tiny, needle-sharp tips of its huge talons, the pressure gets high enough to pierce and even crack bone. Its short, wide wings then let it brake and turn sharply to reach prey hidden in the treetops.
📚 Source: Harpy Eagle | San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants ↗For more than a decade, biologists with The Peregrine Fund have watched wild harpy eagles at their nests in Darien, Panama, recording the monkeys and sloths the parents carry in to feed their chicks - which is how we know what these eagles really hunt.
📚 Source: Harpy Eagle | The Peregrine Fund ↗Watch the 45-second version
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“The Harpy Eagle has rear talons that can grow over five inches long — longer than a grizzly bear's claws.”
“The Harpy Eagle carries about four times as many vertebrae in its backbone as a human being does.”
“The Harpy Eagle has a grip strong enough to crush bone.”