Two White-tailed Eagles wander freely in Transylvania after being successfully rehabilitated by our colleagues. But let’s start at the beginning.

Both large predators arrived last autumn at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Sânsimion. One was found in the Retezat National Park, while the other bird was captured, to everyone’s surprise, in the staircase of a flat in Oradea. They were brought to out center and examined by specialists from Vets4Wild. After a thorough medical check-up the vets found that although they are weak, they have no injuries that require medical care, only a proper diet and a suitable space to get in shape. The large cage at the rehabilitation center was home to the two White-tailed Eagles for the next few months.

A few days ago, after careful planning, we decided it was time to release the two birds. In order to be able to track their movement our colleagues mounted a satellite device on each eagle. It was hard work, requiring three people and a lot of experience, but this will allow us to gather the data needed to monitor the two birds’ movement routes, as well as their wintering and nesting sites, information about their behaviour and  information about their preferred habitats.

The release of the birds took place near Miercurea Nirajului. Thanks to the satellite device we found out that while one of the eagles was lazy and didn’t flew much during the first days, staying close to the release area, the other one fully enjoyed its regained freedom and flew across the whole region. Unfortunately, the second one was found dead few days after release. For now, the cause of death is unknown.