‘Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom’ was a fantastic show hosted by Marlin Perkins that introduced American viewers to fascinating animals. The show was aided by naturalists Jim Fowler and Stan Brock.
Many of the shows were filmed in the animals’ natural habitat from 1963 to 1971. In this episode, Marlin sits next to an eagle and says, «Eagles have captured the human imagination since ancient times. To me, this is one of the most spectacular faces in all the wild kingdom.’
«The Romans used the golden form of the eagle for strength, skill, and courage.» He informs the viewer that the eagle’s talons are as strong as the teeth of a big cat, and its wings are made for soaring.
It is also called the «Mountain Eagle» and is common throughout the northern hemisphere. In Southern Idaho, along the Snake River, there is a family of eagles that the show focuses on. It has the heaviest population of golden eagles in the world.
They called it «Valley of the Eagles» and the huge cliffs near the Snake River allow the eagles to have excellent nesting grounds. In addition, the broad valley of cliffs helps with updrafts so the eagles can glide more easily.
This is where the eagles do most of their hunting. The family had three eggs hatched and a father and mother to raise them. They stayed and watched the eagles. Three little white puffins began to move in the nest and the eaglets were born.
The mother eagle saw a bull snake near the nest, swooped down from her children, attacked the snake and killed it. She twisted the snake’s backbone with her beak. The footage is incredible and viewers were treated to a rare view of an eagle family, thanks to Marlin and his team.
