An Eagle Really Did Attack a Baby in 1901
Late last night, we brought you amazing video of a Golden Eagle snatching a baby from the ground. Then came news that, as with all things Canadian, the video was not to be trusted and was instead a remarkably well-made hoax. But as it turns out, eagles really do attack babies, as evidenced by a story from 1901 unearthed by Tweets of Old. As the Hartford Herald reported on February 6 of that year:
"Tony Giovanni, two years old, was seized and carried off by an immense gray eagle to-day while the child was in the yard of his home in a Denver suburb. The child's screams brought his father and two other men to the door in time to see the bird and child disappear over the bluff of the Platte river.
The men gave chase and saw the eagle alight on small island covered with underbrush, half a mile from the child's home. When the men arrived at the island, the bird attempted to rise with the boy, but his clothing caught in a brush, and the eagle, seeing the men close at hand, dropped his prey and flew away. The boy is not badly hurt."
So there you have it. Eagles: hating small children since at least 1901.
