The rescue of an eagle chick in the Negev, one of whose parents died from poisoning, March 2024/Photo: "Derech Hanesher", director and producer Gil Karni
The Nature and Parks Authority continues to deal with the consequences of the major poisoning incident detected at the beginning of the week, in which at least 8 adult eagles who were in the nesting period died.
For days now, the Authority's employees have been following the nests and, if necessary, with the help of professionals, they are carrying out surfing to the nests of the eagles that were damaged in the poisoning incident, in order to try to save the chicks and eggs that are in the nests. With great luck and great joy, yesterday (Wednesday) the team succeeded in extracting an eagle egg and a chick alive from two different nests.
The unfortunate chick lost one parent - the eagle A50 in the current poisoning incident, so it was decided to transfer it to the breeding nucleus of the 'Forishim Kanaf' project in Bar Carmel for further breeding.
Rescuing an eagle chick in the Negev, one of whose parents died from poisoning / Nature and Parks Authority, Nikita Podobreev
Rescuing an eagle chick in the Negev, one of whose parents died from poisoning/Nature and Parks Authority, "The Eagle's Way", director and producer Gil Karni
Rescuing an eagle chick in the Negev, one of whose parents died from poisoning/Nature and Parks Authority, "The Eagle's Way", director and producer Gil Karni
Only 50% of the chicks get to bloom successfully from their nest
"Raising an eagle's chick is a business for two, a pair of eagles that give birth to a chick work in shifts - one incubates and guards and the other flies at dawn for food," explains Ohad Hatzofa, an avian ecologist at the Nature and Parks Authority. "Unfortunately in this case, the partner dies while the chick is young, and cannot survive under the care of one parent. From our difficult experience over the years of poisoning and harming nesting eagles, it is enough for a parent to be absent from the nest to search for food - and the chick can find its death or being fed by only one parent You will not satisfy the needs of the chick. Because of this, it was decided not to let the eagle take care of the chick's body, but to transfer it to the nucleus where its chances of survival are better."
According to the viewer, "After a chick hatches, its parents take care of it for a long period of about four and a half months before it is ready to spread its wings and blossom. Raising an eagle chick is no small thing, it is an effort that requires a lot of time and work. The percentage of success in breeding eagles in Israel is low Relatively speaking - only 50% of the chicks come to bloom successfully from their nest. Therefore, every chick that blooms and joins the local population is a world in its own right."
Rescuing an eagle chick in the Negev, one of whose parents died from poisoning/Nature and Parks Authority, "The Eagle's Way", director and producer Gil Karni
Rescuing an eagle chick in the Negev, one of whose parents died from poisoning / Nature and Parks Authority, Nikita Podobreev
Rescuing an eagle chick in the Negev, one of whose parents died from poisoning / Nature and Parks Authority, Nikita Podobreev
A fatal blow to the dwindling eagle population
The eagle population in Israel is in serious danger of extinction, even before the last two poisoning cases that brought it close to extinction. The Nature and Gardens Authority estimates that the population is now less than 170 individuals. Any poisoning is a fatal blow to the population which is shrinking year by year. The Nature and Parks Authority makes tremendous efforts to preserve the king of birds in the skies of Israel, whether by tagging, transmitting and monitoring the birds or by operating safe feeding centers. In an attempt to protect the eagles, the authority promoted a poisoning prevention program that was approved by the Cleanup Fund. The purpose of the program is to assist in sanitation - disposal of carcasses that have been treated with veterinary drugs that are dangerous to eagles to designated sites. After the last case of poisoning that occurred at the beginning of the week, the Ministry of Environmental Protection pledged to transfer an emergency budget of NIS 15 million to deal with the poisonings. Let's hope that they will indeed transfer the amount to take care of this important project.
More on the same topic:
eagles
Animals
the Negev
poisoning