A quiet festive season for the black eagles
With the new head of the house being given the name Mahlori, things have normalised at the Garden and the eagles are quiet but as wild as they can be.
The two resident Verreaux’s eagles at the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden are said to be in their rest period with very little activity from the pair.
The year had its ups and downs at the Garden, with the Black Eagle Project Roodekrans (BEPR) monitors giving updates on a number of incidents.
There was great excitement when Garth Heydenrych sent a picture taken by his trap camera on 2 May, which confirmed that there was at least one egg on the nest.
The excitement was short-lived as the BEPR announced the disappearance of the male eagle (Thulani) and Makatsa was left to look after the eaglet by herself.
Makatsa impressed a lot of eagle followers with her determination to support both herself and the fast-growing chick in the absence of her partner.
Nature threw in another spell of excitement when suddenly a new male eagle appeared in the nesting area and we all learned that he was to be the new partner replacing Thulani.
Some said nature can be cruel when photographic evidence of the new male indicated that he had killed the chick and the carcass was later found to confirm the death.
With the new head of the house being given the name Mahlori, things have normalised at the Garden and the eagles are quiet but as wild as they can be.
Chairperson of the BEPR, Gerald Draper said, “The official monitoring stopped on 1 December and will be commencing again on 1 March, but the telescope is available for viewing at the Eagles Fare Restaurant”.
