By Marko Tucakov, Thu,
11/02/2016 - 16:35
You may think that bird
species of the Least [conservation] Concern on the European Red List of Birds are not threatened because of the name of the
category they are in. However, this doesn’t mean they don’t face serious, often
man-made threats to their survival that must be addressed.
The White-tailed Eagle is one such bird. Native to Serbia
and its neighbouring East European and Central Asian countries, the Serbian
population of the species has been growing: it reached 125 pairs in 2016. The
annual growth rate of the species is about 50 birds across Serbia ,
only five of which reach sexual maturity and reproduce in monogamous couples,
according to Serbian researchers. So losing even one bird is a big loss.
Since 2009, 33
White-tailed Eagle carcasses have been found in Serbia .
The culprit? In a majority of the cases: pesticide poisoning.
Poison problems
The bodies of most
poisoned White-tailed Eagles and other affected species such as theCommon Raven, Common Eurasian Buzzard and Black-billed Magpie were found close to poisoned baits (mainly
cattle carcasses intended for predators like Golden Jackals and Red Foxes).
The majority of the cases
was recorded around Gornje Podunavlje and Karađorđevo, two nature reserves in
the northwest that host a large concentration of White-tailed Eagles – almost
30 breeding pairs and more than 100 individuals in the winter.
No comments:
Post a Comment