That's what you call one tough old bird: The golden eagle who carries a KNIFE

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Published: 10:48 EDT, 10 May 2012 | Updated: 12:01 EDT, 10 May 2012

A forgetful photographer had the shock of his life when this soaring golden eagle made off with his knife.

Dutch snapper Han Bouwmeester had been using the utensil, in Västerbotten, Sweden, to carve up chunks of meat in a bid to attract the birds of prey.

But, busy with the task in hand, the wildlife aficionado clumsily dropped it in the snow.

Attack of the killer: Han Bouwmeester captured this 'once in a lifetime' moment when a golden eagle soared away with a knife

Thrilled: The photographer said he was 'happy with the absolutely cracking and unique picture'

He said: 'Once it flew away in the sight of my camera I saw something red in his claws and made some shots of it.

'On the display from my camera I saw immediately that it was the knife we used to cut the meat. We surely left it in the snow.

'At such a moment we were firstly enraged with ourselves because this was a fault.  But he soon dropped the knife after realising it was useless for him.

'I was happy with the absolutely cracking and unique picture. The eagle is holding it exactly as we should do with it. What a crazy once in a lifetime moment this was.'

Soaring high: Han Bouwmeester said people would have heard of 'thieving magpies' but maybe not of 'thieving golden eagles'