A peregrine falcon, the world's fastest bird, attacked a drone surveilling the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Scenic Area in central China's Hunan Province on Thursday, with this thrilling and unexpected aerial encounter captured on camera by park staff members.
The incident bears witness to the incredible agility and speed of this apex predator.
On the misty afternoon, as the drone soared through the majestic canyon, it was suddenly struck by the falcon. The bird, with its lightning-fast reflexes, swooped past the camera, momentarily disappearing from view. Just seconds later, the falcon reappeared, swooping directly towards the drone.
"It suddenly appeared in front of the camera while we were observing," said Xu Ruichu, a staff member of the scenic area.
The drone managed to capture the falcon's bold attack. Confirmed by local forestry authorities, the bird was identified as a medium-sized raptor - a peregrine falcon, a national second-class protected wild animal.
Peregrine falcons are among the world's fastest flying birds, capable of reaching speeds up to 320 km/h.
The lush vegetation and excellent ecological environment of the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon provide a habitat for numerous bird species and wildlife.
Speeding falcon strikes drone in dramatic Zhangjiajie aerial clash
Tokyo stocks closed mixed on Friday as the earnings of major companies showed diverse results, with artificial intelligence and semi-conductor stocks slumping while video games firm Nintendo enjoyed a bump amid a recent sales boost.
The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 76.55 points, or 0.12 percent, from Thursday at 65,606.71. The broader Topix index, meanwhile, finished 19.08 points, or 0.47 percent, higher at 4,074.93.
Timothy Pope, an analyst for the China Global Television Network (CGTN), gave his assessment of the day's trading in Tokyo.
"Over in Japan, the markets were mixed today. The Nikkei 225 dragged a bit lower by its AI and chip-related heavyweights. It finished the day down only about 0.1 percent, but it had been down more than 1.5 percent earlier on in the session," he said.
"Two of today's notable stocks, SoftBank and Nintendo, reported earnings yesterday. SoftBank was down 2.5 percent. Its earnings were predictably complicated: profits were better than expected, but still down 18 percent year on year. It reported 1.86 trillion yen in investment gains, but -- this is a crucial one -- no valuation gain from its massive investment in OpenAI. Nintendo shares, meanwhile, were up 5.3 percent after quarterly operating profit jumped by 150 percent. It says thanks there are due to strong demand for software for the Switch and Switch 2 (games consoles), and also a hefty refund from U.S. tariffs," said Pope.
Tokyo stocks end mixed as heavyweights diverge: analyst
