John Culatto
EAGLES are the latest birds to try out life on the Rock after wildlife experts continued with their plan to return historical wildlife to Gibraltar’s unique ecosystem.
A team of environmentalists released a pair of Bonelli’s Eagles from a secret location in the Upper Rock after re-introducing the Barbary Partridge and European Rabbit.
Experts believe medium-sized Bonelli’s Eagle disappeared from what is now the Nature Reserve during World War II when the constant noises and explosions scared it away.
This latest effort at ‘rewilding’, as the process is called, follows on from the pair of Hermann’s tortoises released last month.
Vincent Robba leads the Rehabilitation Team that includes Gilbert Gonzalez and Stanley Olivero.
The Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society (GONHS) are working with the Department of the Environment on the project.
They first bred two young Bonelli’s Eagles at the Bird of Prey Centre last spring.
“The young birds were transferred to the release site, a facility constructed by the Upper Rock Team led by Reuben Senior,” Gibraltar’s Department of the Environment said in a statement.
“Their release was carefully monitored by the team and by Wildlife Warden Chris Durante.”
Now the partnership hopes to repeat the process every year, hoping they will return again once they have matured to nest again like they did for centuries.
The Department of the Environment said plans to ‘continue this re-wilding work, aimed at restoring Gibraltar’s biodiversity as much as possible’.
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