UK
A ten-year-old girl was excited to see a huge bird circling in the sky and held up her camera. Seconds later her joy turned to panic when the bird swooped and landed on her arm â it was an American bald eagle that had escaped from a falconry centre.
âIt really hurt and its claws went into the skin,â India Arikan said. âI was really scared because it was huge but it wouldnât come off when I tried to shake it. Eventually it came off and flew away again.â
India suffered a shock and cuts from the eagleâs talons, but is now recovering. The unlikely visitor had dropped into the garden of the Berwick Lodge Hotel, near Bristol, which is run by Indiaâs parents.
The bird of prey, also known as the white-headed eagle, probably thought that India was offering it a perch when she raised her arm to take a picture of her unexpected visitor.
India said: âI was by the tree in the garden and I was just taking pictures and suddenly it jumped down on me. It really hurt and its claws went into the skin on my hand. I was really scared because it was huge but it wouldnât come off when I tried to shake it. Eventually it came off and flew away again but there were cuts on my hand.â
Indiaâs mother, Sarah, watched in horror as the bird gripped her daughterâs arm. Mrs Arikan, 43, said: âShe was saying, âOh my God, oh my God,â and running around in circles and trying to get the eagle off and it wouldnât come off. She came in with her hand covered in blood and she was sobbing, really shocked.â
She added: âIt wasnât doing it to be malicious or anything. I think the eagle thought it was time for him to come down and he came swooping down and landed on her arm.â
The bird was first spotted in the grounds of the hotel on Monday afternoon. Mrs Arikan rang the RSPCA and the RSPB but staff were sceptical because bald eagles are native to North America. A friend then put her in touch with Lloyd Buck, a local falconer, who arrived after Indiaâs close encounter with the bird. He managed to tempt the eagle from a tree with some diced lamb.
Mrs Arikan said: âOnce it was on his arm it was just so tame. We had this really surreal moment when Lloyd came in to the dining room to have dinner and sat there with this great big eagle on his arm.â
A tag on the eagleâs leg identified it as Wotan, a fugitive from the Cotswold Falconry Centre in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, more than 60 miles away.
Mike Hope, head falconer, said: âHeâs one of our flying display birds. Sunday was a lovely warm day, with lots of thermals, and he managed to get to extreme heights when he was flown that day. He went so high we lost sight of him, and he drifted down with the winds to Bristol. After heâd gone that sort of distance he didnât know how to find us again.â
The bald eagle is the national symbol of the United States of America but is only captive-bred in Britain.
The bird of prey grows up to a metre long, with a wingspan of up to two-and-a-half metres, and can weigh up to seven kilograms (15lb)
