LOWA ACTIVE Team Paul Klima

Seeing the world through eagles’ eyes

Since his youth, Paul Klima has been fascinated by the “kings of the sky”. The native of the Altmühltal region of southern Germany started working with birds of prey at the age of 13. He became the “youngest falconer in Germany” soon thereafter. Since then, he has worked with falcons, eagles, owls and the like at his falconry, and he also runs a film-animal school.

Paul is in high demand across Europe as a trainer of animals used in films. Just a few years after opening the falconry, he began to train his golden eagles to fly with specially developed camera equipment called the “eagle cam”. This has resulted in spectacular aerial images, which have already been used in numerous film productions and documentaries. For example, his golden eagle named Sky can be seen in the motion picture “Brothers of the Wind”.

He recently moved his animals from Lenggries, a southern German town located at the foot of Brauneck Mountain, to the Staubachhof in the Bavarian community of Dietramszell. It’s a new start, required after the lease for the old falconry ran out. In addition to the regular film-animal training, visitors will have an opportunity in future to get to know the feathered TV stars and the everyday life of the falconer during “adventure days”.

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Facts & figures

Birthday:: 17.01.1972

Birthplace:: Riedenburg

Home base:: Bad Tölz

Profession:: Falconer, animal trainer and filmmaker

Favourite climbing site:: King Laurin’s Rose Garden

Local mountain:: Brauneck

Height:: 1,81 m

Weight:: 78 kg

Paul Klima,
What was your personal highlight with the birds?

“That’s easy: The flights of my eagles from a 3,000er in the Dolomites and in the Ortler region. When you are standing at an elevation of more than 3,000 metres, all alone, and you watch your eagle soar – and it then flies back to you and comes in for a landing…”

What is a workday like for you?

“During the summer, I train my birds every day at the Falkenhof in southern Bavaria. The mountains located at the bend of the Isar River provide the best place for training – good flying conditions, so to speak. Of course, the birds need their daily care as well. I’m often accompanied by adventure-package customers. Unfortunately, I cannot spend all of my time roaming around outdoors (even if I would like to). I still have a lot of office work to do and have to respond to e-mails. I get my reward when we film my eagles and put the EagleCam to work in the mountains.”