Shocking moment when a huge eagle tries to fly off with little boy at wildlife show

The moment the eagle made his move

The youngster, said to be between six and eight, had been fiddling with the zipper of his jacket when the bird tried to pick him up "like a small animal" witnesses said.

A stunned tourist has captured the moment a huge eagle swooped down and tried to fly off with a little boy in its talons during a wildlife show.

Staff at the Alice Springs Desert Park in Central Australia managed to step in during the attack, which left the boy bleeding and with cuts to his face.

The moment the onlookers captured the move 

Christine O'Connell, from Horsham in Victoria state, had been visiting the nature reserve with her husband on July 6 when she captured the terrifying scene and shared the image on her Instagram.

She captioned it: "At a nature park in Alice Springs we decided to go to a bird show the young boy in the green kept pulling his zipper up and down.

"For some reason the wedge-tailed Eagle did not like it and instead of flying over to the log he is meant to for a photo opportunity he flew straight at the young boy and attacked him.

"The show was quickly cancelled and the boy taken off to first aid. Those talons are huge he was a very lucky young boy."

The onlookers shocking moment

Keenan Lucas, who was in the crowd, told NT News the young boy's mother was "distraught" during the attack.

"We're at the bird show in the afternoon, having a great time and looking forward to seeing the wedge-tailed eagle come out for the finale," he said.

"The bird then flew over the crowd and tried to grab on to a young boy's head. He screamed, the mother was distraught and the presenters wrapped up the show very quickly."

Alice Springs Desert Park released a statement, which read: "On Wednesday, 6 July, an incident occurred at the Alice Springs Desert Park where an eagle made contact with an audience member," according to the BBC.

"A thorough investigation regarding the circumstances behind this incident is under way and the eagle will be removed from the show while this investigation is ongoing."