The eagle chick is growing fast and the need for food is constant. The eagles' perfect prey is the marmot, or “groundhog,” whose large fat reserves make it a tasty and nourishing meal. But these cute little mammals are watchful and wary, and have no intention of being on the eagles’ menu today!

In a nearby nest, another pair of eagles have managed to raise two young. But with survival at stake, the younger chick must fend off a vicious assault from its older sibling. Eagle-owls are also nesting on the mountainside. Ducks, hares, rats, hedgehogs, and even ravens make up the diet of these fierce nighttime hunters.

Things are calmer now in the Alps than two and a half million years ago, when the collision of two great continental plates forced them skywards. But even the splendid summer flowers, which bloom briefly in the high pastures, must be able to withstand a sudden outbreak of winter, cold mountain winds and a flurry of snow.

In late summer, the ibex are feeding in the high pastures, preparing for the winter ahead. The young males jostle and clash horns, testing their strength in a series of energetic show fights. As night falls, we catch glimpses of the powerful red deer, and Biker the eagle takes flight in an effort to coax her chick into the air.

Biker’s chick is strong enough, but lacks the courage to fly the nest. She must use food to tempt it into flight. The nest will then be empty, and other species can make use of its strength and secure position to raise their broods.

Eagle expert Andreas Mayrhofer climbs down to the empty eagle nest, where he will collect evidence of the eagles’ diet and habits. Autumn has arrived, spreading its mellow colors across the Alps. But this is no time to relax, and the eagles’ prey must be ever watchful. An escaped rabbit catches the eye of a hungry eagle.

A century ago, the golden eagle was a rare sight in the Alps and was on the verge of extinction. Nowadays, this bird of prey is better understood and protected and there are some one hundred and fifty birds just in the Karwendal and Northern Tyrol. Our young eagle makes his first kill, and soon his life will change as he must seek out his own hunting territory, alone in this mountain paradise.