There was a crash landing Sunday at the Duluth International Airport, but it didn’t involve airplanes. Rather, it was two bald eagles, which were fighting in midair when they locked talons. In a rare spectacle of nature, they were unable to disengage in time before crashing to the runway.

 

“Apparently, mature eagles will sometimes fight over territories,” Randy Hanzal, a Minnesota conservation officer, told GrindTV in an email. “They will do battle in the air, crashing into each other and grabbing an intruding eagle with their talons.

 

“Usually, they will let go of each other before hitting the ground, but in this case, they had the talons so deeply imbedded in each other they may have been unable to let go.”

Hanzal was the one who was called in to collect the birds and deliver them to Wildwoods, a wildlife rehabilitation center in Duluth.

“Surprisingly, the two eagles were remarkably calm as I grabbed them both and loaded them into the back of my truck,” Hanzal said. “I think they were still more intent on winning the battle than any concern for me.”