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Eagle Tries To Carry Off Small Child During Bird Show

One witness said the eagle seemed to have a problem with the boy's zipper.
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Deputy Editor, Trends, HuffPost

When it comes to taking memorable photos, there’s nothing like the magic of nature.

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Chris O'Connell/SWNS

On July 6, a birds of prey show at Alice Springs Desert Park in Australia’s Northern Territory went awry after a bird apparently tried to carry off a small boy, The Guardian reports.

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Chris O'Connell/SWNS

“At a nature park in Alice Springs we decided to go to a bird show the young boy in the green kept pulling his zipper up and down,” bystander Christine O’Connell wrote on Instagram, captioning a photo of the incident. “For some reason the Wedge Tailed Eagle did not like it and instead of flying over to the log he is meant to for a photo opportunity he flew straight at the young boy and attacked him.”

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Chris O'Connell/SWNS

Another witness, Keenan Lucas, told NT News that the boy’s mother was “distraught” and the show quickly came to an end.

“It looked as if the bird tried to pick him up like a small animal and take off with him,” Lucas said.

The Alice Springs Desert Park website describes their “eagle encounter” event as an opportunity to “Get up close with Australia’s largest bird of Prey, the Wedge-tailed Eagle.”

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Alice Springs Desert Park

The park did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Huffington Post. However, the park confirmed that the incident occurred to both The Guardian and NT News. The boy suffered only “superficial injuries” and the park is investigating what happened, according to a statement sent to those outlets. The eagle will be removed from the show, at least temporarily.

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