Eagles Attack Paraglider

[matcom]

<snip>

CANBERRA, Australia (Reuters) -- Britain's top female paraglider has cheated death after being attacked by a pair of "screeching" wild eagles while competition flying in Australia.

Nicky Moss, 38, watched terrified as two huge birds began tearing into her parachute canopy, one becoming tangled in her lines and clawing at her head 2,500 meters (8,200ft) in the air.

"I heard screeching behind me and a eagle flew down and attacked me, swooping down and bouncing into the side of my wing with its claws," Moss told Reuters on Friday.

"Then another one appeared and together they launched a sustained attack on my glider, tearing at the wing."

The encounter happened on Monday while Moss -- a member of the British paragliding team -- was preparing for world titles this month at Manilla in northern New South Wales state.

One of the giant wedge-tailed eagles became wrapped in the canopy lines and slid down toward Moss, lashing at her face with its talons as her paraglider plummeted towards the ground.

"It swooped in and hit me on the back of the head, then got tangled in the glider which collapsed it. So I had a very, very large bird wrapped up screeching beside me as I screamed back," Moss said.

She said she thought about dumping her parachute-style canopy and using the reserve.

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/02/01/eagles.attack.reut/index.html

[xchrom]

1. this place ain't big enough for the three of us -- get the fuck out!

damn those eagles are fierce.

[charlie and algernon]

2. here's a picture of it

that's one big ass bird. the wing-span is the length of a kangaroo! :scared:

[KamaAina]

3. How do you keep eagles off your paraglider?

Put a goalpost on top of it! :rofl:

Ah, those halcyon days of two weeks yore...