Eagles vs Drones: The birds who grab drones from the sky

Dutch police are training eagles to grab illegal drones out of the sky.

In this video (which is in Dutch) an eagle is seen swooping towards a hovering drone, grabbing hold of the machine with its talons and flying off.

The birds are taught to treat the drones as if they were a small animal they would hunt to eat.

"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," says a statement from the police.

Why are drones causing problems?

The Dutch National Police force says it's trying to limit how often members of the public are using drones.

Drones have been a big problem, sometimes they are flown too close to aeroplanes.

Obviously there's the chance that an eagle could get hurt by the blades on a drone.

That's why the police are apparently looking into some sort of protective clothing for the birds.