Drone Eagles
An eagle is seen gliding straight toward a drone before clutching it and dragging it to the ground in Rotterdam, Netherlands January 29, 2016, in this handout photo released by the Netherlands police to Reuters on February 1, 2016. Reuters/Nederlands Politie

If Londoners find eagles swooping on to small gadgets and bringing them down, they shouldn’t be surprised. Scotland Yard may soon start training and employing eagles to its flying squad in its battle against terror and criminals. The eagles will be trained to take down drones that pose a threat to London.

Netherlands has been successful in its trials where an eagle pounced on a drone and snatched it from the skies. A video of the legal eagle was posted on YouTube and spotted by eagle-eyed Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe.

Like us on Facebook

Authorities are now analysing the possibility of training eagles to make London safer. It has been reported that criminal gangs are using drones to smuggle drugs into prison.

“As would be expected in an organisation that is transforming we take an interest in all innovative new ideas and will of course be looking at the work of the Dutch police use of eagles,” said a Met spokesman.

According to The Guardian, this initiative is being branded as “a low-tech solution for a high-tech problem.”

The Dutch National Police teamed up with Guard From Above, a bird-training company that teaches eagles how to successfully take drones down to the ground. Mark Wiebe of the police said that they are banning camera drones as they are a threat to bystanders.

“The bird sees the drone as prey and takes it to a safe area, a place where he does not suffer from other birds or humans. We use (this instinct) in this project,” said Wiebe.

Drones are a threat in the UK too. Senior officers are of the opinion that drones are being used to reconnoitre possible targets or to drop explosives by terrorists. As it is extremely dangerous to shoot down drones, the Scotland Yard is finding other ways to take them down.

Watch cops train eagles to take down drones here.

Source: YouTube/ Complex