Bald Eagle Steals GoPro and Takes it for a Joy Ride

Environmental researcher Matt Beedle was using a GoPro camera to capture some shots of bald eagles a couple of years ago and ended up with some unexpected and viral footage: while the camera was rolling, an eagle decided to snatch it up and take it up for some aerial shots.

Beedle was shooting footage in Juneau, Alaska, in May 2015. After setting some salmon on a log in the wetlands near his home, he set up his GoPro HERO4 Silver on a nearby stump and waited for eagles to arrive.

One eagle did show up in the frame to eat the salmon, but the picture-perfect shot was soon interrupted by a second eagle that decided the camera was a better find. It swooped in, grabbed the camera, and flew away with it.

Beedle was then tasks with recording his camera, which the eagle deposited in a tree about 1/4 of a mile away. Thankfully, his father had seen the branch the eagle had landed on, and the two men searched for hours over two days before they managed to find the camera and the footage within.