Massive 8ft Eagle That Catches Tennis Balls [PICS+VIDEO]

It's the ultimate game of fetch, but with a difference - it's played with an eagle.

Evie, a stunning white-tailed sea eagle, has taken a liking to tennis and enjoys nothing more than flying after balls thrown by her proud owner George Hedges.

As part of her favourite game, the stunning bird-of-prey deploys her massive 8ft wingspan to hurtle after the balls, either catching them in mid-air or swooping to seize them from ponds.

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On the ball: Evie the Eagle gets stuck into her game of fetch

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Lift off: Proud owner George Hedges and Evie take flight

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Swooping to conquer: The tennis ball is no match for Evie's strong beak

The high-flyer retrieves the balls using her impressive talons or beak.

Mr Hedges' Dartmoor falconry, Devon's Eagles, is home to a total of 18 birds, including owls, hawks and falcons.

He says the birds are exercised constantly but "we also like to give them a bit of play time".

The tennis ball looks like the size of a golf ball in Evie's large claws and it quickly became the bird's number one toy after she spotted it on a lawn.

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Mine: Evie would prove a formidable opponent

'One day by sheer accident Evie saw a ball on the lawn and grabbed it. Now it's her play toy,' Mr Hedges said.

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Best of friends: George and Evie

'When she fetches it her reward is a piece of fish like mackerel or trout, a day-old chick or a piece of meat like rabbit.'

White-tailed sea eagles became extinct in England in the early 1900s and numbers in Scotland are still very low despite a long re-introduction scheme.

The theft of the species' eggs has hampered the attempts at re-introduction and has led to local initiatives to help protect nests.

But Mr Hedge's work with Evie has helped put the birds back in the spotlight, leading to an appearance on celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's television show, The F Word, where he was captured hunting with an eagle.

But there is no doubt who the real star is and Evie would likely prove a formidable match for anyone on the tennis court.

Watch the amazing footage here...