These stunning images of a sea eagle swooping down to stop a red fox stealing a fish were filmed using a tiny drone.
Fishermen in Japan guided film-makers to capture the footage in one of the most hostile environments on the planet.
Viewers of the BBC’s wildlife epic Asia, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, 98, will see the fight between the Steller’s sea eagle, one of the world’s largest birds of prey, and the scavenging fox in next Sunday night’s episode, The Frozen North.
Series producer Matthew Wright said: “This was one of the last things we filmed for the series. It’s minus 30C in Japan in February and we had to go when it was absolutely freezing, and animals are prepared to battle each other for resources.” He added: “New lightweight, quiet drones were used. These are so small and quiet that the creatures were not fussed at all.”
In tonight’s episode, Above The Clouds, viewers see the world’s largest population of swifts nesting in a cave in northern Thailand.
● Asia is on BBC One at 6.20pm tonight, with the complete series also available on BBC iPlayer.
