Bz. Zoo receives $50,000 for Harpy Eagle project
They are known for their beauty, powerful prowess and aerial ability… but throughout the world Harpy Eagles are feared for their dominating presence, as many people mistake them for nothing more than cold-blooded killers. This afternoon, News 5’s Jacqueline Woods travelled to the Belize Zoo to take a closer look at these magnificent birds and meet the people trying to protect them.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
You are looking at one of the largest eagles in the world. The Harpy Eagle is one of the newest residents at the Belize Zoo. The bird, which was born blind in one eye, is a gift from the Peregrine Fund in Panama. Affectionately named Panama the ten-month-old bird will be used as part of an educational campaign that will include the release of two other eagles in the Rio Bravo area.
According to the Zoo’s Education Director, Celso Poot, Harpy Eagles once lived in the jungles in the northern area of the country. It is not certain what happened to the birds, but the last time one was seen was in April 2000. Today, the Belize Zoo has plans to follow in the footsteps of the Peregrine Fund, which has successfully reintroduced the eagles in their forest.
Celso Poot, Education Director, Belize Zoo
“Belize has a healthy prey population. The forest is healthy for us to re-establish the Harpy Eagle population in Belize. We have so far brought in four Harpy Eagles in the country to be released in the Rio Bravo management area in northern Belize.”
Today, the United Nations Development Programme and the Global Environmental Facility Small Grants Programme presented Poot and the Belize Zoo with the first disbursement fund of forty-five thousand dollars to help the Harpies go forth and multiply.
Celso Poot
“What we’re doing right now, we’re receiving funding from U.N.D.P. to embark on a education outreach for the community surrounding the lands where we would release the birds.”
The Educational Programme promises to create a good social environment for the birds so they’ll be able to survive in the wild while promoting conservation. Poot says he is also optimistic that the programme will also address many misconceptions people have about the birds which have caused hunters to kill them.
Celso Poot
“The Harpy Eagle is the largest eagle in the world. An adult weighs about twenty pounds. They have a wingspan of about seven feet, they’re very large birds and there is a lot of misconception that these birds pick up babies off the ground and carry them away. Harpy Eagles feed on monkeys, they feed on iguanas, they feed on rodents especially, rodents and snakes. That is what make them important in the environment, because rodents, snakes, we consider them pests and the Harpy Eagles control their population.”
Before the eagles are released, they will be trained to survive on their own in the wild. That exercise is expected to last for six months. Panama, who remains in quarantine, will be introduced to visitors at the zoo on July twenty-sixth. Jacqueline Woods for News 5.
