The golden eagle once had a bad – and undeserved – reputation as a child and sheep killer. Poisoning, along with systematic nest plundering brought, the golden eagle to the brink of extinction in Switzerland. (SRF/swissinfo.ch)
This content was published on
2 minutes
Deutsch
de
Greifvogel mit schlechtem Ruf und zu vielen Singles
In 1953, the government introduced measures to protect the species. To call attention to the remarkable bird with the difficult history, Swiss environment protection group Pro NaturaExternal link chose the golden eagle as its animal of the year in 2001. At the time, there were 300 pairs. Today there are about 350.
“The golden eagle is the only large predator in Switzerland to have survived the days of ruthless persecution during which the bearded vulture, the lynx, the wolf and the brown bear were exterminated,” says the species profile by the Swiss Ornithological InstituteExternal link.
The golden eagle population has recovered, but there is room for improvement in terms of the bird’s love life.
“Due to the large number of unpaired single golden eagles, territorial pairs are repeatedly involved in disputes. They are therefore regularly absent from the eyrie, which reduces breeding success,” notes the Swiss Ornithological Institute.
An eagle typically needs an area of 100 square kilometres to live and hunt. It feeds mainly on marmots, fawns, fox cubs, hares and even cats if there is insufficient wildlife.
Eagles also eat entrails discarded by hunters, but these often contain poisonous lead fragments from the bullets. Based on the results of an ongoing study, the Swiss Ornithological Institute advocates the use of lead-free ammunition.
Lifespan: Up to 28 years in Switzerland, 32 in Europe
Weight: 3-7kg
Wingspan: 190-225cm
Food: Mammals, birds, carcasses
Where to find: Alpine habitats, nesting in crevices and trees
Conservation status: Least concern
Swiss population: About 350 pairs
Popular Stories
More
Multinational companies
Azeri fossil-fuel cash cow brings controversy to Switzerland
This content was published on
“It manages to pick out a swarm of mosquitos from a distance of five metres.” Urs Seiffert, manager of the Swiss BirdScan radar project, has no doubt about the radar’s potential. But he is not interested in insects – instead, he’s pinpointing the migrating birds that fly twice a year over Switzerland. “There are tens…
This content was published on
And so it was, for me as well. Elias and his wife, Jenny, were hiking around the borders of Graubünden, the largest canton in Switzerland – the one I’m currently in. Charming young people (maybe 30 years old), this is their first backpacking trip and they expect it to take three months, camping in a…
This content was published on
For three years in a row, members of the Bearded Vulture Foundation have taken young birds up the Hengliboden mountain in Melchsee-Frutt, Obwalden, watched over and fed them until they could fly. Bearded vultures were first reintroduced in Switzerland in 1991 in the Swiss National Park . New regions were subsequently added. It has been shown that 88%…
This content was published on
In terms of biodiversity, Switzerland is doing very badly, finds the head of conservation biology at the University of Bern.
This content was published on
Sherkan the bald eagle is the mascot of Geneva’s Servette ice hockey club. He flew through the stadium in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos before a Spengler Cup match against Sparta Prague on December 27. (Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann)
This content was published on
Haller has run the park in eastern Switzerland for ten years and knows the 172-square-kilometre wilderness like the back of his hand. In 1914, Switzerland led the way in creating the first national park in the Alps. It is situated near the village of Zernez, canton Graubünden. But Swiss pioneering efforts in this field have…
This content was published on
The protected area, which lies between the Bernese Oberland and northeastern Valais, covers more than 800 kilometres² and is the first site of its kind in the Alps. Countless roads, trails, cableways, ski-lifts and mountain railways – the best known being the Jungfrau line – lead up to the protected area and, in some cases,…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.