Towards the end of August Camp Jabulani sent HESC a Bateleur eagle that had flown into an electric fence. Its left wing was severely burned, so the reserves’ curator, Christo, immediately took the injured bird to Dr Rogers at Provet. The damage was extensive and unfortunately most of the wing had to be amputated. Sadly this means that the eagle will never be able to fly again. For now, its being kept in HESC’s hospital quarantine section until it’s fully recovered. We’re not sure about its future at this point, but we are happy to report that it’s on the mend and doing well.
A medium-sized eagle, the Bateleur is common in the savanna regions of sub-Saharan Africa. It builds its nest in a tree, and eggs need to incubate for 42–43 days before hatching. It then takes a further 90–125 days before the eaglets fledge. Bateleur eagles pair for life, and will generally use the same nest for a number of years. Unpaired Bateleur eagles have been known to help out at the nest. Clearly they’re very family oriented birds!