Looduskalender

Black Eagle Project Roodekrans
20. Dezember um 13:32 ·
Short update on Mkhaza. She is gaining more and more mobility in her legs as the days past. Go girl.

Makhaza, the offspring of Thulani and Emoyeni of 2007 is doing well after her mishap with a Duiker protecting their lamb.
According to a staff member of Vulpro, she is eating well, and is very comfortable in her new sling, as per attached photo.
It would seem that a little time is required for her to heal fully, and her release into the wild once again. Wishing her well. (Reported by Johann van den Berg)

VulPro
After much thought and deliberation; as well as understanding how she feels and where she is at, knowing her pain, anguish and inability to fly free and away from humans, we have made the hard decision to let her go tomorrow morning. This is not an easy decision, especially with such a charismatic species but it is time. We have done everything possible for her. We have fought for and with her and now she needs to be set free again. Tonight she sleeps in doors and in comfort, warm and cozy whilst we finally get much needed rain here at VulPro. From all of us at VulPro, we are so sorry we could not heal her. We are all devastated.

Black Eagle Project Roodekrans
In lieu of the harsh criticism uttered by some people, I feel it necessary to explain why this very difficult decision had to be taken. The injuries sustained by the eagle during the attack by a buck to defend her youngster, was far worse than initially thought.
Be assured that the staff of Vulpro did everything in their power to save her, but it transpired that she was totally lame in her legs and wings. That would mean that she would spend the rest of her life in a sling, while enduring a lot of pain and discomfort.
When Ernest, Gerald and I visited her earlier in the week, we could see that she was in immense pain, and she did not even try to defend herself while being touched.
Trust you will understand that this was in the best interest of the eagle who would have died a horrible death in the wild had she not been found.
Regards,
(Johann van den Berg)

BEPR Update June 2016
Black Eagle Project Roodekrans·8 czerwca 2016
Dear BEPR observers & interested parties,
Photos by Ernest Porter, Garth Heydenrych & Brian Reynolds.
As the popular saying goes: ”A change is as good as a holiday…” Well, I’m not so certain when this extended eagle-holiday is going to come to an end, as quite frankly, the pair is now well overdue with their breeding season, which appears to have been scuttled.
There are a few possibilities that have crossed our minds during a chat with Garth Heydenrych, Joanne Meyer and I as to what the cause(s) may be as this behaviour is not usual for Verreaux’s eagles.
Our thoughts herewith:
1. Climate change – El Nino drought period,
2. Prey availability – quality of prey availability due to the poor rainfall period,
3. Nest reduction – unlikely, but a possibility
4. Infertility in the female – most likely cause
Infertility can be a real issue in that science indicate that eagles may breed up to the very end of their life span, and although we are only speculating what the age is of the female, reliable calculations indicate that she may be at least 35-40 years old, which is considerable for a wild eagle. In captivity eagles can really achieve greater longevity as there is generally less stress in that they need not hunt and or breed.
Of major concern is that during their initial nest refurbishment session during April, sporadic mating was evident that goes hand in hand with the refurbishment period, however, this did not produce any eggs…an indication that infertility may be evident.
In the least, I received some positive information from project member Dennis Dry, that during their Sunday 5 June morning session, both eagles brought many sticks and green leafy sprays, which is usually associated with a new breeding season, but so late in the year remains a bone of contention that we are all wrestling with. It is not clear however, if any mating was observed…
The best we can do is to not give up hope despite the odds of a breeding season materialising. Just observing this magnificent pair is enough of a privilege to have them in our midst…something that does not occur too frequently. .........
Chins up thus and all fingers and toes crossed…let’s see what transpires during the remainder of this month…
Yours in conservation,
Boudewijn van der Lecq
Black Eagle Project Roodekrans

Mamicja wrote:
I used to think, that Emoyeni will be there forever, though she is old lady (about 40). But she is so beautiful and royal!
After tracking for years this couple and their offsprings Nessi, Jono and Kendi I feel sad for Emoyeni.