Étudier, observer et protéger l’Aigle impérial en Slovaquie

The Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) is a large species (wingspan of 1.8-2.15 metres) of bird of prey that breeds from central Europe to central Asia. In Europe, it is threatened with extinction, with a declining population which is estimated to be 400-500 pairs.
The only European populations which are increasing are found in the Carpathian basin, mainly the northern mountains of Hungary and the southern region of Slovakia. The breeding population in Hungary consists of about 105 pairs. In Slovakia, there are approximately 40 pairs nesting predominantly in southeast, less in the southwest part of country. The population is threatened by many human activities (illegal installing of poison, disturbance during the reproduction period that often causes the insufficient incubation of eggs or death of the young because of lack of delivered food, illegal traffic of young birds, death by 22 kV current on pylons, excessive loging of lowland forest stands or windbreaks causes destruction of suitable breeding and intensification and failure of pasture utilization caused a dramatic decline of suslik, its main prey).
The Raptor Protection of Slovakia (RPS) has always been aimed towards the Imperial Eagle from the seventies when the first breeding was noticed, through gradual population increase until watching pairs reoccupying their original lowland territories. The project « Conservation of Imperial Eagle in the Slovak part of the Carpathian basin » has been the culmination of much of endeavour of RPS members. It has been one of three sucessful Slovak projects which has won financial support from the European Union in within the program LIFE-Nature.
We propose you a presentation of this bird of prey and its situation in Slovakia, some informations to watch it in this country, and the measures of conservation taken during the « Conservation of Imperial Eagle in the Slovak part of the Carpathian basin » project. We thank Lucia Deutschová, Vladimír Nemcek and Jozef Chavko (RPS) for their help, informations and photos.