Steller’s Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus) - Opportunistic Hokkaido Hunters

Young human children and house pets such as dogs and cats are carefully watched when venturing out on their own when the Steller’s Sea Eagle’s food supply becomes scarce. There are even fables of children going missing during these periods due to insufficient safety protocols being followed. It’s far too common that cats, dogs, and some young livestock and even deer go missing when there’s foul weather.  These raptors have even been known to attack the Ezo Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes schrencki), the Red-Crowned Cranes (Grus japonensis), Whooper Swans (Cygnus cygnus) and are always seen in conflict with the fourth largest raptor on our planet, the White-tailed eagle, that hold their own against these larger raptors.  As soon as prey becomes the eagles’ primary focus, or an eagle spies another catching a fish, a rodent, a rabbit, or any form of edible prey, their raptor instinct comes alive, and open combat begins. The successful hunters immediately try to land and devour their prey, but on many occasions, they take to the air to defend their catch while others seek higher elevations to start their divebombing or a sneak attack from below or a blind spot in the hunter’s line of sight in order to strip the prize away, the Kleptoparasitism I mentioned before. This is why one of the main events on my Hokkaido Photo Workshop/Tour takes place from the deck of a ship photographing the Steller’s Sea Eagle and the White-tailed Eagles, or for the adventurous spirits, from a Zodiac boat.