In light of the dead eagles found during the week, the inspectors of the Nature and Parks Authority (NPA) in Israel went out to check the condition of the dead eagles' partners who are nesting, among other places, in the Nahal Akab (southern Israel) area.
After observing the nest for several hours, the inspectors saw no movement from one of the eagles, and suspecting that the eagle had an egg or a chick in the nest, the volunteers of the Negev Mountain Rescue Unit were called to go to the nest and try to save what was still possible. Unfortunately, they arrived too late, as they found a few days old chick beneath its parents.
This is a great loss, the adult eagle is at least 18 years old and the NPA has been monitoring for years. Identified and marked for the first time in the Judean desert on 1/12/2006. Among the eagles that were injured was also U6's (the male eagle's ID tag) partner, the 21-year-old eagle T95.
This is a serious blow to the eagle population in Israel, all the injured eagles were found only thanks to the transmitters. We do not know how many other non-monitored eagles were affected. Losing at least three eagles and a chick in one week due to a lack of proper sanitation is a heartbreaking event.
Response from poultry ecologist
Ohad Hatzofe, poultry ecologist at the NPA: "The lawlessness and lack of sanitation must not be allowed to continue."
Hatzofe spoke about carcasses that are left in the field, which in turn can lead to poisoning and conflict between predators. He also said that some animals were left in these areas before they died and were treated by veterinarians. These animals tend to have traces of drugs in their system, which can be highly toxic to eagles.
Apart from these eagles, another eagle was found dead this week after encountering the cable anchoring the observation balloon in the small crater area (a 3-year-old female.)
The NPA is doing everything it can, together with its partners in the Spreading the Wings project, to preserve the eagle population in Israel, which is in danger of extinction.
The NPA formulated a plan to save eagles from poison, the plan in the amount of 28 million NIS was approved by the Cleanliness Fund, but the budget has not yet been transferred to the Authority.