Jungle Eagle is a film that demonstrates how far PBS and their NATURE series will go to bring new and exciting experiences to viewers. Jungle Eagle is all about the Harpy Eagle of Central/South America. As the series executive producer Fred Kaufman said at the Television Critics Association Press Tour, “The Harpy is the eagle among all eagles. With talons the size of bear claws and a wingspan of six feet, the Harpy is the world’s most powerful bird of prey.”
The Harpy Eagle
What does a bird like this eat? They mainly eat the monkeys that live alongside the eagles in the rain forest. The film shows the animals that inhabit the rainforest as well as a very special look inside a Harpy Eagle’s nest. The filmmakers discovered a newly hatched Harpy living high above the forest. The nest was an excellent opportunity for them to really learn and understand the life of the Harpy Eagle.
Dr. Mike Wallace, wildlife scientist at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, was on hand at the TCA Press Tour to offer more information about the birds. “The one thing about the Harpy is it is the epitome of antisocial. They spend all their time under the canopy, solitarily just sitting, waiting for something to move. And they have the capability to be able to catch some amazing prey items in the forest. But as far as intelligence is concerned, there are actually raptors, like the Harris's hawks and the more social species that are more intelligent. But with talons like that and the weight that this species has - they grow up to 20 pounds in the wild.” These are definitely large birds.
Jungle Eagle
To get a good look inside the nest of this eagle family, the filmmakers set up a “nest cam.” But getting the camera up in the canopy of the forest was not an easy task. Besides documenting the lives of the creatures and the Harpy Eagles in the forest, the film also demonstrates the difficulties and dangers of filming wildlife.
The team had to wear special gear that covered their bodies and heads so they would not be harmed by the protective mother eagle with her long talons. They took several precautions when setting up the camera, and as viewers will see in this film, they also had some close calls with Mrs. Harpy!
Filmmaker Fergus Beeley told the journalists, “I have filmed most of the eagle species around the world. And I think that generally one’s looking at them at a distance over valleys, soaring over valleys [and] over mountains. And yet suddenly the challenge with this bird was that it was going to be a massive eagle living in a thick jungle.” He described the large forest as well as the huge tree in which the nest was situated. And, “there’s an enormity to this bird which is indescribable.”
For Beeley, actually finding this eagle family was a challenge and a stroke of luck. The thick forest hides many of its inhabitants. And finding a Harpy nest with a young chick was exciting to the filmmakers who watched the eagle family over the course of a year.
The birds maintained their distance from the filmmakers, but their curiosity was evident. “I’m sure that they were curious about us in the same way that they’re curious about the movements of troops of howler monkeys and troops of capuchin [monkeys], which is what they were feeding on,” Beeley explained. He was excited that he got as close as he did to the eagles. “It actually flew and landed on a branch right beside me.” While watching the film his excitement is clear.
“In my whole life I've never been this close to a wild eagle. And that was a bird that,” he said. And by the time the filmmakers were getting ready to finish their filming and remove their camera, the young bird was familiar with them. Not enough to get right next to them, but as the film shows, it flew in and landed near them, which was not only exciting but also amazing.
PBS and NATURE bring the wonders of this magnificent raptor to viewers in this one fascinating documentary. Jungle Eagle premiers Wednesday, November 9, 2011 on PBS.
