Harpy Eagle Training

I am mostly known for my work with parrots, however I did get my start many years ago working in zoos. I do still consult with zoos on animal training and thought I would share some awesome training done when I was consulting at the Dallas Zoo. This training actually won the 2010 Behavior of the Year: Husbandry Award from the Interantional Association of Avian Trainers and Educators (www.iaate.org) Congrats to the trainers and the Dallas Zoo! Below is the abstract I wrote for the presentation on this training. It helps tell the back story on this video.
The Dallas Zoo is home to 0.1 Harpy Eagles (Harpia harpyja). The mature female hatched in 2002 has been on exhibit since 2004. In September 2007 Keepers initiated a training program to facilitate optimal care of this individual. Initial training included the use of targets to teach hands off behaviors such as moving from point A to point B, shifting into a holding area, stepping onto a scale and flying from perch to perch on cue. Eventually keepers were able to work in the enclosure with the eagle and incorporated these behaviors into educational presentations. As the bird continued to progress, it was decided to train behaviors that would allow the eagle to make appearances outside of the enclosure. This included teaching the bird to wear falconry equipment and sit comfortably on a glove in public areas. Because of the birds role as an exhibit bird it was important to the facility that equipment could be removed completely for when the bird was on display. This challenged keepers to train the eagle to allow daily manipulation of feet, extensive touching to the tarsus while anklets and jesses were attached and removed, and learning to step onto a glove voluntarily. By adhering to a strictly positive reinforcement based training approach staff members were able to successfully achieve their goals and more. This paper will share the triumphs and challenges of using positive reinforcement to train one of the largest and most powerful species of eagles in the world. Read the full paper on my website www.goodbirdinc.com/profession...
Barbara Heidenreich
www.GoodBIrdInc.com
Copyright Good Bird Inc

[@MiguelRodriguez-zd6tq]

Those talons break bone. If one clamps around your neck, it may break your spine. This bird is just plain badass.

[@MiguelRodriguez-zd6tq]

Bk Jeong I don't agree. Those animals can squeeze 2x harder than a rottweiler's best bite. And it's known that as soon as they clamp down, it will break that bone.

[@bkjeong4302]

Miguel Rodriguez It will break your neck, but by that point you would already be dead was my point.

[@MiguelRodriguez-zd6tq]

Bk Jeong lol

[@MiguelRodriguez-zd6tq]

Magnificent, isn't she? I love this bird. They're so smart, strong, and beautiful. I think those talons are pretty scary. But people forget that those wings can act like whips and can be swung really hard. Plus, that beak is razor sharp and strong. People think: "well, its a bird, for Pete's sake; how much damage can it do?" Well, for any adult stupid enough to challenge this bird, they will NOT forget the ass whopping - provided they recover from the injuries.

[@KINGKROSBYSKINGDOM]

+Miguel Rodriguez hahahah lol

[@hjones1]

My God, what a beautiful bird!

[@johndelrio]

Congratulations Barbara! You already know that Harpys are my absolute favorite species of bird. This one is sure a beauty. Magnificent!!!

[@going2sleep]

Magnificent animal... It's like a fighter jet.

[@MarkGingeJones]

Fantastic Video, I can't believe how gentle she is when eating. the way the meat was taken off her and put back on the fist, with no reaction from her was really nice to see. What a bird!!

[@GFOgravedigger]

That is the most beautiful bird, i love it.

[@sr.guerri5422]

Beautiful!

[@JonDuanePerry]

That bird is incredibly beautiful!

[@TheKinseth]

What a gorgeous bird! I've always loved raptors of all kinds, and the harpy is hands down my favorite. It's incredible how such large birds can fly with ease through crowded rainforests.

[@bubaganoush55]

WOW ! Magnificent Eagle 👍 We really need to protect all their habitat so that they have a future. I wouldn't want to live in a world without Harpy Eagles .....

[@sergeantsilly5239]

harpy eagles are just beautiful ! They look so majestic that you forget about how dangerous they are

[@KevinPaul444]

that animal is so awesome, he appears to not mind the conditions too much either, amazing.

[@tinaloflin1174]

They're so big!!

[@NeidalRuekk]

One look at those talons and you KNOW this isn't a bird to mess with. Annoy her/him and you'll feel it, if you're lucky, you might live to tell about it. Imagine if Haast's Eagles were still around...

[@AtamMardes]

That's fucking awesome.

[@mssmssmssmss]

What a beautiful bird! And I love the calm patience the handlers are showing as they train it to accept handling. It sounds like great progress, especially for starting when the bird was 5 years old.

[@TheTruePsycho]

beautiful bird

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@SuperVeshi The excellent attention to avoiding creating any aggressive responses was critical to keeping this bird as comfortable as possible and therefore she did not present aggressive behavior. In addition most birds of prey rely upon their feet and talons for defense as opposed to using their beaks.

[@falconrymorocco9071]

One common big mistakes with eagle training is actually feeding them on fist. The association with glove and food only reinforce their instinct of pressuring with their claws as they would do on a kill. You do not really want a powerful eagle to associate hands and food. Looking at the Kazakhs, they feed their goldies either on the ground or in a wooden pan to prevent hand/food association.

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

We never saw any evidence of her being footy towards the glove or hands. In part I imagine because we were not micromanaging her food intake. She was willing to eat, but comfortable, relaxed and not threatened by the loss of food or limited food availability. Deprivation or obsession for food created by weight management practices can create those behavior problems. By not going down that path we could still train but not have behavior problems related to food.

[@-MrGoogle]

+Barbara Heidenreich Golden eagle is a very large, dark brown raptor with broad wings, ranging from (26 to 40 in) in length and from males (5 ft 11 in to 7 ft 8 in) in wingspan primarily dark brown in color, with a paler, typically golden color (the source of the species’ common name) on the back of the crown and nape, and some grey on the inner-wing and tail As an apex predator, a healthy adult golden eagle has no natural predators, although grizzly bears and wolverines have been reported to killed from disturbing their nest

[@SUBIESAMURAI07]

O my god .. phenomenal creature. Spectacular! In war is the air attack most effective way to win the battle . Can you imagine how strong this beautiful bird is ? Look at his fearless eyes , legs and claws .. my god

[@MiguelRodriguez-zd6tq]

Magnificent.

[@DogFoxHybrid]

That's some Jurassic Park shit right there.

[@agusdwit699]

Watching this video in 2020, wow it's amazing yeaah

[@Fultonfalcons86]

beautiful bird of prey

[@ilganis]

What a amazing bird..

[@shantee4]

wow...excellent

[@ToddAndelin]

Beautiful and epic looking bird. Wow.

[@tayyabqurban2234]

i love female harpy eagles they are bigger and more cuter

[@jnb91191]

Such a fabulous video! Amazing work :) Definitely a tribute to the great results you can get if you use positive reinforcement correctly!! It must have been quite an opportunity to work with such beautiful and powerful bird. I'm jealous! :)

[@BirdLadyBrazil]

Wow! This is fantastic! I experienced once in a Zoo here in Brazil when one Harpy looked straight into my eyes for minutes. It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life!

[@Albertgani7]

i love eagle, i love harpy, dont let them extinct.

[@hsumi1]

beautiful bird!

[@ChisIordan]

beautifull bird

[@mariajdecarvalho8593]

Poor little bald eagle. The South American Harpy Eagle wins always!

[@kathybradbury]

I hope that you’re able to add sound on future videos. Awesome to see these magnificent creatures interact with humans...I hope that the jungles remain capable of sustaining a healthy population.

[@PlanetBlake]

That bird is both beautiful and scary at the same time. Huge talons, and huge beak. That guy had is face so close to it's beak, and I just kept thinking that if that bird decided to go off on him, it could have pulled his eye out before he knew what was even happening.... I have a lot of respect for those brave enough to study these birds of prey that close up. That said though.. ya'll is some crazy ass people to do it.. ( LOL )..kidding..

[@michaeldeierhoi4096]

Birds of prey can become calm around handlers who are also calm.

[@cruzade100]

BEATIFUL BIRD.

[@iHasAbucket0246]

@GoodBirdInc thanks i've always wanted to train a bird but all i can do is watch in amazement

[@chocolate9076]

oh my god that is one huge harpy eagle holy shit

[@Hawklen1326]

The American Harpy Eagle is my FAVORITE bird!!!!1 :D

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@zethaw the training is based in positive reinforcement which is applicable to all species of animals. And yes absolutely a mature bird can be trained. This eagle was 7 years old when her training began.

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

It is Killa! : ) And no footing at all. The guys did a great job being very sensitive to her body language to avoid giving her reason to foot. She was awesome to work with!

[@noelleslie6665]

Needs guts to b with those big eagles -talons omg, beaks n wings amazing predator of t sky.

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@4lifebloods Yes, that was done to get her accustomed to this in case she ever needs to be restrained for a medical procedure. The eagles talons are more dangerous than her beak. Therefore it is best to make sure you have control of the legs. Training her to allow this makes it much less stressful if she needs medical attention.

[@johncodee9175]

Barbara, this Harpy is beautiful! Great video! There was two in the zoo (in separate enclosures) in Guyana and one of them died a couple years ago. One would be chilling in an owl-like posture, the other was boisterous when you stood near the cage. I could've looked at them all day in awe! ☺

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@frerty1 Yes we do know : ) This is why we shared this video. It is a fine example of what is possible when you train with positive reinforcement and build a trusting relationship with an animal.

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

This one is about 6.4 kilos and is full grown. Eagles sizes can vary in different regions. In the US Bald eagles in the north are much larger than those in places like Florida.

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

As you watch the video you will see the goal is to keep the bird as calm as possible. This requires paying attention to her body language. This way the bird has no reason to want to show aggressive behavior. That is a primary goal in positive reinforcement training : )

[@YESHUA_byRaynal]

Exuberante, lindo mesmo.

[@orangeseed3337]

Those talons omg

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@kysuelta Hello. Great question! There are lots of types of reinforcers besides food. So you can train without using food as a reinforcer. However food can be quite effective. That beng siad there is no need to keep an animal super hungry to train. In fact it is not a good idea. I have 2 papers out there that goes into this more. Check the IAATE conference proceedings. One is Food Glorious Food and the other is the Power of Secondary Reinforcers. There is also a paper on this bird's training.

[@kidbrezzy1]

aww shes cute

[@foxy358]

that s one awesome bird.

[@jzpanda3]

I worked at Dallas in '05-'06, not in the bird department but right next door to where Kia lived then (I assume this is Kia?). She is beautiful and I loved seeing her every day hunting squirrels on her exhibit mesh. Amazing work!! And such brave keepers to trust her in hand! Did she ever foot anyone in training? I'd hate to be that person! :)

[@skvakagud]

yes they do. :) I saw a documentary lasting over an hour about it. They followed a Harpy eagle from birth. Till it's late "teens". :) They later discovered, that the parents had on purpose. Placed its nest near a group of monkeys. So the young could study the monkeys behavior. Why on purpose, was because the parents NEVER hunted the monkeys nearby, but flew further awway for food. :) Amazing.

[@canudeiro]

The harpy-eagles of the zoo of my city are HUGE ! Much larger than the eagles you're dealing with. Are these eagles young ? Will they grow more ?

[@MrKristoffle]

hi thanks for your reply :) meaning both are noise? is that what you mean? :)

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@Sparks101ful That is what it says on the Peregrine Fund website. From my own observations they are pretty big!

[@sotovo]

@GoodBirdInc what does it mean in laymans terms when someone is "footed by an eagle?" Thank you.

[@AvieMare]

Impressive and cautious handling of this King of Raptors. Our property sits between 2 mountains and even though Eagles, Hawks, Falcons, Owls, Kites, Kestrels, Turkey Vultures and Wild Turkeys are daily visitors, I have never seen this mighty bird before!

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@Darklarik Not a thing : ) She is completely relaxed and comfortable around them in part due to the positive reinforcement training.

[@SuperVeshi]

Thanks. I'm interested in falconry myself. But remember seeing a man in Pak who had a falcon and one eye missing so I was a bit worried

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@amityadav270993 This bird was hatched in captivity. Zoos are very dedicated to educating people about animals and wildlife conservation. I believe they play an important role in helping people learn to appreciate animals. I can also say that everyone I have ever worked with at zoos cares deeply about this mission.

[@Reminiscable]

So cute.

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@b0z123 check out the description under the video. It explains why we did not want equipment on her all the time.

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@Billabongs122988 Positive reinforcement training is applicable to all animals. So yes other eagles can be trained with this method.

[@Sparks101ful]

Wow. I can say this it is a very pretty eagle. Is it true that the length of a harpy eagle's talons can grow to the size of a bear's claws?

[@michaeldeierhoi4096]

Yes. The rear claw especially.

[@Billabongs122988]

Question! Can I do this training with a giant Philippine Eagle? I'm here in Mindanao, Philippines where most of the eagles can be found. Damn and they're so effin huge man. They're wild too.

[@nonjabusiness4360]

That thing is sooooo APEX.

[@calibred818]

There's one at the San Diego zoo. It's majestic as f****

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@silverleapers Our goal was to be very sensitive to her body language. By making sure she was comfortable she did not have a reason to foot. As addressed in the paper we also did not micromanage her weight or use large pieces of food which can also contrbute to footing. There was a lot of trust built with her based on positive reinforcement training and empowering her to participate or not.

[@jakubvalenta5403]

I would love to have one.

[@faraza8868]

why are there a million mosquitoes but 1 harpie eagle

[@michaeldeierhoi4096]

Think about it. There are always more members of a species at the bottom of a food chain but very few at the top. The predators all serve to control the populations of the animals below them in the food chain. And the smallest animals or insects at the bottom are the most numerous. Not always, but that is generally the case.

[@bastien7091]

Impressive! But i have a question? A harpy eagle can kill an adult human?

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@Cassnet she was hatched in captivity

[@Broken-Nation]

can these birds can be trained like peregrine falcons to hunt deers and other game

[@chefedwyn]

Hola es un ave muy poderosa, mi pregunta seria si es posible entrenar una harpía en la cacería al igual que las águilas de Mongolia. Muchas gracias

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@chefedwyn Si, hay personas que usan harpia para creteria. Pero no pienso que el metoda es el mismo de Mongolia. Y no hay muchas harpias para creteria.

[@charzpak7173]

look at those huge talons. do they still exist?

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

Yes they do :)

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@TommyEmmanuel2 Technically no, but you would have to have permits from the feds and the state and find someone that would let you have their harpy : ) There are very few in the US.

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

its been done : ) I witnessed it in africa.

[@awais8184]

nice

[@newburger]

Hi! Im Indonesian, please teach me how to train my eagle. I have a black eagle or what is it called I dont know this is my first time, so what do I have to prepare for my young black? eagle? Like how many I feed them/bath/play per day. Size is little bit smaller that yours, he bite my fingers but it really not hurt but I worries if he grown bigger and when I put him on my hand he will scratch my face/head or bite my ears.. so please teach me how. Im newbie please reply

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@sotovo Most raptors use their feet for hunting, defense and also to express aggression. Raptors have a very powerful grip and sharp talons. Therefore this can be quite damaging. If a raptor foots you, they try to grab you with a foot. In many cases they attempt to foot the glove or your hand if it is nearby. However a good trainer will avoid doing things that cause a raptor to want to foot : ) The goal is for the bird to be comfortable and relaxed when training. Hope that helps!

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@iHasAbucket0246 she weighs about 6 kilos or 13-14 pounds.

[@SuperCconroy]

i just watched a documentary about the harpy called the monkey eating eagle, totally amazing animal to see in the wild, hate seeing them caged tho, i realize he/she was born in captivity but still

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@iyakabud Hi there. I couldnt say. I have not encountered wild or wild caught Harpy's before. I would imagine the folks at the Peregrine Fund would be able to answer that one. They did have a Harpy project for many years.

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@Travisdjtg Hi Dean, It is hard to educate without grabbing people's attention. Many educators use entertainment as a vehicle to deliver educational messages. As a rehabber/falconer I am sure you would agree free flying birds are great for entertainment, attention getting and offering educational opps. In my experience many zoos utilize the same strategies. Most zoos tend to put the money made right back into improving the zoo and to fund conservation efforts.

[@MrKristoffle]

so sorry sir, may I have your guidance, please. I know in general, the female eagle tend to be larger as compare to a female eagle, but may I ask, between a male eagle vs a female eagle, which is more quieter and which is more noiser? a male eagle OR a female eagle? please reply as I need the answer as soon as possible, and million thanks sir.

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

+Annabelle Tay I cant say that I have noticed a difference

[@thebooster99]

Holy cow! I think you need longer jesses.

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@Silvawolf100 she weighs a little over 6kilos.

[@raymondmpi6803]

This bird is capable of carrying a 5 year old child so yea they are bad ass

[@DisHammerhand]

Wow such a beautiful bird. I couldn't see one being used for falconry. That's an awful lot of bird to land on your glove.

[@grindguy]

This one have a powerful bite; it could even kill a human child if threatened (I've seen happening here in Brazil once.).

[@4lifebloods]

Lol he grabbed the eagles feet!

[@nrrrdboy]

holy fucking shit thats one big pokemon

[@janemillerick9614]

there's a doc up on utube about these raptors. gorgeous one here! want to do thls wor? go for a degree re avlan studles... that would be the start.

[@silverleapers]

If it ever foots you real good can you post it !!! (assuming you live)...PLEASE!!!! I seen you take the meat with your bare hand and then transfer it to your gauntlet with your bare hand...the eagle seen it too....AMAZING VIDEO GUYS! Please post more... a buddy got footed by a bald eagle...it was gruesome! I can't imagine in my worst nightmare (having been gently footed by a big FRT) what THAT THING can do! I'd be scared to death to own that thing...

[@Silvawolf100]

She is Huge. how much does she weigh?

[@t0uwie]

dam hella nice