The cat which was briefly nabbed by a juvenile crowned eagle in Seaward Estate, Ballito, on Tuesday, has survived the ordeal without serious injury.

A video of the incident, which has been widely shared on social media, showed the eagle sitting on a balcony in the estate before swooping down to grab the 13-year-old cat, Bella.

“I wasn’t there but heard the account from my husband, Armand. The eagle is such a beautiful bird that a group of people had gathered to see it up close,” said Bella’s owner Michelle Nell.

The eagle appeared resplendent atop a balcony railing, seemingly unphased by the attention, before successfully clutching a surprised Bella and lifting her off the ground.

“Luckily we have quite a lot of trees around, so the eagle had to fly quite low instead of quickly taking off. Between the shouts of onlookers and Bella’s wriggling, she was able to escape the talons and run to safety,” said Nell.

Bella sustained a puncture and some nerve damage to her left leg, but should be fully recovered within a week, said Nell.

“I am very thankful that Bella was mostly unharmed and feel no ill will towards the eagle. We live in Ballito and South Africa because of our access to nature and these sights, and cannot blame an animal for adapting to human life in its natural habitat.”

The juvenile eagle, which was born last year, is the latest chick born from Zimbali Estate’s resident mating pair and could be the first to successfully reach adulthood in the wild since 2012.

“This makes it crucial that the bird is protected in the next few weeks, before it disperses to leave the area completely,” said LionHeart Experience’s Richard Mckibbin.

Mckibbin is part of a wider team, which includes Ezemvelo Wildlife’s Brent Coverdale, Raptor Rescue’s Ben Hoffman, UKZN professor Colleen Downs, doctor Mfundo Maseko and doctor Shane McPherson, among many others, who have been studying the bird to learn more about dispersal patterns.

“Data on the Zimbali Estate pair has been collected since 2000. Typically, this mating pair has produced a chick once every two years, which is incredibly important for maintaining stable numbers of the species countrywide,” said Mckibbin.

Unfortunately, since 2012, a number of different circumstances have meant that none of the offspring have reached adulthood in the wild.

In 2014, the chick became too comfortable around people and would not have successfully dispersed, meaning it had to be taken to a sanctuary.

Tragically, in 2016, the male in the pair was hit by a car near Westbrook, leaving the female without a partner for the first time in almost 20 years.

“Eagles mate for life, so it was really tough for the female. She kept calling and calling but had to wait almost two years before another male entered the area,” he said.

They produced their first chick in 2019, which was tagged for mapping purposes.

It was unfortunately found dead and being used by a local sangoma in the muthi trade.

“The locals said it was killed by power pylons which is possible, but the fact remains that it had been almost 10 years since the Zimbali Estate pair had produced an adult in the wild.”

This puts a huge impetus on protecting the juvenile eagle spotted in Seaward Estate, which is likely to disperse within the next few weeks.

“Between the age of nine and 18 months, the eagle will grow old enough that it disperses to a new habitat in which it can become the dominant bird. If it doesn’t do it naturally, then the parents will eventually kick it out of their area. We don’t currently know where they disperse to, making this opportunity very valuable for research.”

Crowned eagle research teams estimated that there are around 600 mating pairs (1 200 birds total) in South Africa, meaning every new adult is important, particularly with 93% of their forest habitat destroyed in southern Africa.

Over the next few weeks, Mckibbin recommended that pet owners keep small pets indoors until the eagle has dispersed.

“Young crowned eagles are very loud birds, so if you hear them, perhaps let your neighbours know just to prevent any further incidents. It will soon leave on its own.”