BEPR Update October 2016
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Drought versus Verreaux’s Eagles
Dear BEPR observers & interested parties,
Our Planet is a wonderful place. Throughout millions of years, our world has managed to keep a perfect balance. We have had times of abundance, where rains covered our beloved country, filling streams, rivers and dams. We have also had times where the land was parched with not a blade of grass, empty dams, and dying livestock and wild animals. We have lived through these times, and managed to survive.
We are currently experiencing a rejuvenating stage in the cycle of life. It is indeed very sad to see empty dams, rivers that have stopped flowing, and barren land. Whether we like it or not, there is a cleansing process in place where the weak are replaced with the strong. At the end of this process, we will be left with a strong gene pool to ensure the proliferation of healthy and strong birds and animals.
How does this effect our Roodekrans Eagles? Like all other birds, animals, and humans, we have to ride the storm out. It may just have been fortuitous that Emoyeni chose this period to leave our precincts, and that Makatsa was not ready to start a new family.
It would have been a trying time for them to raise a new eaglet in this adverse time.
There is always a new beginning, and we are all confident that the rains will once again fall on our barren land. The rejuvenation process will begin, and life will return in all its glory.
Our latest observations have determined that Makatsa has started building a new nest, but at the same time both eagles are also refurbishing the old nest. It is unusual practise for them to nest build at this time of year, but it may also be part of the bonding process.
There are several months remaining before egg laying is due, so plenty of time for her to decide which nest to choose to raise the new family.
It is our sincerest wishes that the new couple will have a very successful breeding season in the new year, and I am sure you will all raise a glass with us in celebration of the Roodekrans Eagles.
Yours in conservation,
Johann van den Berg
Black Eagle Project Roodekrans
