Emotional moment for eagle fanatics as juvenile takes flight
According to BEPR Chairman, Gerald Draper, the juvenile fledged at 7.33am and chances are it’s a male, as fledging was slightly earlier than usual.
Black Eagle Project Roodekrans (BEPR) monitors and photographers woke up to the great news on Monday, 31 August that the Black Eagle juvenile at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden (WSNBG) has fledged.
According to BEPR Chairman, Gerald Draper, the juvenile fledged at 7.33am and chances are it’s a male, as fledging was slightly earlier than usual.
“We had predicted fledging for the first week of September in the case of the eaglet being a male, and a few days later if it is a female,” said Gerald.
It has taken two years to see another Black Eagle juvenile fledging at WSNBG, while BEPR monitors remain hopeful that Makatsa and Mahlori’s offspring will live on to continue the life cycle of the Verreaux’s eagle species.
Dougie Crewe from BERP said, “Although we do not have clear evidence, it would appear that the chick was well fed from the word go, and that was evident from the time the Garden opened again. This may have contributed to the strong and healthy juvenile we are seeing now.”
While the young eagle explores the skies, members of the public and wildlife enthusiasts are reminded to submit their suggestions for the Name the Chick competition 2020.
Entrants stand a chance of winning a R500 Clearwater Mall voucher, a Burger Bistro Little Falls dinner voucher for two, a Nadine van Zyl Photography photo shoot voucher, and a free one-year domain and website hosting from Synergetix.
As a result of a technical glitch on the website where the names were supposed to be submitted, members of the community are requested to send their details and name submissions to roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za.
