MEXICO: According to a report scientists have now discovered that the best method to escape a hawk attack is by darting to the side as quickly as possible.
Using a 20-gram video camera strapped to the head of a northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), researchers in the region of Twenthe in the Netherlands sent the hawk into the forest to hunt for food and studied the recording.
There were a total of 16 recordings of the hawk’s hunt. Each time, the hawk would fly at a constant angle towards the anticipated point where he would reach his prey if it ran in a straight line. When the hawk got close, the hunt would become a direct approach behind the animal.
Fifteen times the prey was able to escape the hawk by darting off to the side, both outmaneuvering the hawk and breaking the hawk’s gaze during its direct approach so it couldn’t quickly recover.
So, in case Alfred Hitchcock’s movie The Birds ever becomes a reality, we will now rest a little easier knowing we can at least avoid a hawk attack.
