The little girl, who was playing on the family farm in Trøndelag, central Norway, when the eagle swooped down on her, needed stitches on the back of her head and suffered scratches on her face from the bird’s talons, her father told the public broadcaster NRK.

“The eagle appeared out of nowhere and grabbed our youngest daughter,” the father said. “Her mother rushed in and grabbed the eagle, but she had to fight to get it to release her. A neighbor also ran to help,” he added.

Gamekeeper Per Kare Winterdal, who killed the eagle, told NRK that the bird had treated the child as if she were “prey.” He explained that the mother and the neighbor, using a stick, had managed to keep the animal away from the girl, “but the eagle kept coming back.”