How sea eagles survive winter in Hokkaido, Japan
Learn about Steller’s sea eagle and the white-tailed sea eagle.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
Learn about Steller’s sea eagle and the white-tailed sea eagle.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
A family of meerkats being hunted by an eagle and a jackal.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
Learn about the red-crowned cranes in Kushiro Shitsugen National Park, eastern Hokkaido, Japan.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
Watch a Steller’s sea eagle and a golden eagle compete for scarce resources in Russia’s frozen Kamchatka Peninsula.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
Steller’s sea eagles battling red-crowned cranes for food on Hokkaido island, Japan.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Andean condors (Vultur gryphus) soaring.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
Steller’s sea eagles competing for food on Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
A golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) taking flight and capturing a rabbit.
Transcript
Winter in Hokkaido, Japan’s most northerly island.
Steller’s sea eagle, one of the world’s largest raptors, with a wingspan of nearly three meters. There are no more than 5,000 of these magnificent birds worldwide and nearly half the population congregates on the sea ice here each winter.
They share their wintering grounds with another eagle. White-tailed eagles have also migrated here from Russia’s far east. The hungry migrants have assembled on the pack ice around Japan’s coasts in the hope of food. The winters are harsh here, but the seas are rich in fish, particularly cod. The eagles will spend the next six months fishing in the shallow waters, surviving on a diet of fish and carrion.
Eagles are proficient hunters. The powerful hooked beak and long talons are specialist tools for seizing prey and tearing flesh. And their keen vision is four times better than ours, so that they can detect a fish in water from hundreds of feet above.
The adaptable crows, have their own way of getting a share of the bounty. But on the water, it is clear there is only one way to secure a meal.
Last Modification:
Apr. 5, 2026