Amazing footage of camera-clad eagle: real or fake?

September 19, 2013 • 4:18 pm

If this video is real, it’s one of the most amazing bird films I’ve seen. It was posted three days ago, apparently from France, and already has nearly 2.4 million views.

It seems to show footage from a camera mounted on the back of an eagle, and really gives you the sense of what it’s like to soar above the ground:

However, as the Los Angeles Times reports, the source and authenticity of the video hasn’t yet been verified:

The video was posted Monday by YouTube user Srachi. The posting lists the location of the flight simply as the Mer de Glace area of Chamonix, France. Mer de Glace, or Sea of Ice, is one of the longest glaciers in the Alps, extending for 3½ miles. Deep greenery, blue sky and snow-touched mountains fall away, bumpily, beneath the bird as it flies.

Efforts by the L.A. Times to reach the video’s creator were unsuccessful as of the time of this posting. But the video had created a sensation by Thursday, with nearly 1.7 million views.

. . .How was it done? Some news outlets say it was taken from the back of the eagle with a GoPro, a small camera used for remote photography and video.

Scientists design animal backpacks of all sorts for their feathered test subjects, and for many different purposes. Many are GPS-based, so that researchers can track the long-distance trips of migrating birds. Others seek to use the birds as their eyes and ears in the environment. One team at Cornell University is building a removable backpack that draws energy from the bird’s movements to power a host of sensors.

And, if you have 53 minutes to spare (believe me, it won’t be wasted), watch this show recommended by the Times: an episode of BBC’s Earthflight that used “microlight aircraft, paragliders, drones and camera-carrying birds” to capture remarkable footage of more than 100 species of airborne birds from 40 countries. The show, which took four years to film, will be released in six episodes. The link above gives the full episode filmed in Europe.

33 thoughts on “Amazing footage of camera-clad eagle: real or fake?”

    1. It is not a fake, it is quite authentic.

      The following article in the Swiss newspaper “Le Matin” at http://www.lematin.ch/loisirs/animaux/alpes-aigle-voit/story/27343620 states that the camera was affixed to the back of an eagle in view of the reintroduction of the species in that area. It was made with the collaboration of the «Aigles du Léman» animal park situated in Thonon. It was made in prelude of a 90 minute film which will allow one to have an unique visual experience in close intimacy with these birds. The spectators will be able to follow two white-tailed eagles, a species which has vanished from France since 1959. These two birds of prey have been living in captivity these past ten years and will soon regain their freedom in the wild. It is the first time an attempt will be made to reintroduce adult birds.

      1. I’m convinced. I watched it 3 times, noticing new details with each viewing, but not convincing myself of any fatal flaws. I agree with those who said that it would be harder to fake than to just film for real. That seems likely to be true.

        I think I’ll watch it again. It has not begun to get boring.

  4. If that’s fake it’s a brilliant one. It looks real to me, but I know nothing about pixels. 😉

  8. Clever fake with 99% confidence. 🙂

    The shadow at 0:56 is clearly contrived. Notice the shadow cast by the tree to the right, which comes out of nowhere and is inconsistent with the lighting context. It’s one of a handful of frames that have been edited to lend credence to this fake. Clever, though.

    Why don’t we see the takeoff and landing, or any prep? I could be unkind and say that the eagle’s head resembled a sock puppet (so I will). It’s real enough to make me suspect they shackled an eagle to a hang glider.

    1. It is absolutely NOT a fake. See my post above in response to dunnfjfrancis. It has been in the news on TV in Switzerland. I live in Geneva and this news was of course aired on the French-speaking state TV.

    2. The shadow appears at two points. Once briefly at .56, and again near the end as the eagle flies over some hikers. There you can see what look like tethers on the shadow feet.
      The direction of the eagle shadow seems to match the direction of shadows of other objects. The whole footage seems very plausible. The technology is there, and there is no doubt it is do-able.
      Most importantly: it would be harder to fake it than to do it for real.

      2. Same idea here.

        Faking this would be so much more complicated than actually strapping a GoPro to an eagle.

        And if you’re gonna do a fake that is convincing 99% of the time, you wouldn’t miss that remaining 1%.

        Like, nitpicking over one shadow here and there is the same level of paranoia as about the Moon landing hoax.

    3. The tree shadow at 0:56 doesn’t come out of nowhere; it’s completely consistent with previous tree shadows around 0:42-0:45. It just so happens that our view of such shadows is blocked for a few seconds in between.

      I agree with Mark: if want to convince us it’s fake, you need to provide an account of how the fakery was accomplished that’s easier than strapping a camera to a real eagle’s back.

  9. I suspect the eagle’s real experience involves compensating for all the jolts and tilts, maybe by head turning.

  10. Come to think of it, what is a Bald Eagle doing in France? They’re New World. Is it a similar species, like a Sea Eagle? Is it a domestic? Is it a Golden Eagle with a dye job? 🙂 Having at least a note or two of the prep, like the camera on the bird’s back, and the species, and maybe his or her name, would be appreciated.

      2. Handsome bird, Haliaeetus albicilla. It looks very similar to a Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus. They form a species pair. I think they’re both called sea eagles, somewhere, but I’ve never heard the Bald Eagle called that here.

  11. Pff, eagles. It’s all about the smaller birds of prey. The goshawk footage is eerily reminiscent of that one scene in Star Wars on the speeder bikes, though the peregrine falcon is not exactly shabby either.

  13. As a former hang glider pilot I have no reason to doubt the authenticity of this video. The sights, sounds, and motion are all consistent with gliding flight along a mountainous slope – ah, yes, I remember it well. 🙂

  15. I’ve tried several times to access the video but get a message that says “This video is private”. Bottom line – it’s been hidden from public view – bummer. But the Goshawk video above is incredible.

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