Bald Eagles Deadly 60 Bites

On Deadly 60, I've had loads of incredible animal encounters.

Here's just one of my many favourites.

This is Deadly 60...Bites.

Today we're exploring the frozen expanses of Alaska.

And as always, my crew and I are on the hunt for deadly animals.

Probably seems crazy to be going on a rafting trip on a day like today.

After all, if you went over the side and ended up in that water,

you wouldn't last very long.

But a fish in there doesn't mind the cold as much as we do

and it's here in incredible numbers.

They're salmon heading upriver to spawn.

Probably won't see any of them today underneath all this slushy ice,

but we are hoping to see some of the animals that feed on them.

All right! I can't paddle, film AND find the wildlife! Come on, lads!

This is just magical.

This is why people come to Alaska.

It just looks like everything - the mountains, the trees -

have been sugar frosted with ice and snow.

The salmon have powered all the way up here from the sea.

If we can find where they are, we'll surely find our next deadly animal -

the bald eagle.

NO WAY!

How did you manage that?!

What a magnificent fish!

It's looking a little bit grotty.

He's probably reaching the end of his days.

Soon, this fish will die having completed his mission in life -

to spawn in the very same river where he hatched.

While they're out at sea, where they live the majority of their lives,

they are ferocious predators. Look at those teeth and you can see why.

But having spawned, these fish are a shadow of their former selves.

Let's get his gills back in the water. Send him on his way.

Oh! My fingers are freezing!

So now we've found their food, it's back on the search for the birds.

Trumpeter swans. You don't get any larger flying birds than that.

But this is the bird we've come to see.

The largest bird of prey to live in Alaska - the bald eagle.

Masters of the sky in Alaska and the whole of North America,

they prey on fish, smaller birds, mammals and turtles.

Each taloned foot can pierce and crush, causing massive damage.

This is not a bird to get on the wrong side of.

This is a totally bizarre sight for me -

seeing all these black dots up in the trees

and knowing every one is a bald eagle. They look more like crows.

You don't get eagles this close together in these kind of numbers.

Most birds of prey don't allow other birds of prey on their territory.

But here, the bald eagles are living side by side with hundreds of others

because, thanks to the salmon, there's so much food.

The bald eagle is one of the most regal of birds.

They fly at about 30mph,

but when they're dropping out of the sky to hit prey,

they can travel at over 100mph. They have a wingspan of 7-8 feet -

that's as high as me standing on the ground with my arm up in the air.

Incredibly powerful beak, ferocious talons,

this is a bird that has to be on the Deadly 60.

The largest eagle to live in Alaska,

able to reach speeds of over 100mph,

with piercing, crushing talons,

bald eagles are definitely on the Deadly 60.

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