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Harpy Eagle to Take Flight Again |
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By Diego Cevallos*
Panama is a pioneer in rescuing the impressive raptor, the harpy eagle. More than 30 harpy chicks have hatched in captivity there since 2001.
MEXICO CITY - Thanks to Panama, the remarkable harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) may soon fly free of its endangered status. But for that to happen, the harmful actions of humans must stop -- and it would still take 20 to 25 years.
Panama is the only Latin American country that has focused its attention on protecting this eagle species, which for hundreds of years flew over an area stretching from Mexico to Argentina, but began to disappear as a result of destruction of its habitat and because it was targeted by hunters.
After four years of work, the Panama Peregrine Fund recently released five harpy eagles, all hatched in captivity. Two have already established territory in protected areas of Panama, and the other three are in nature parks in Belize.
This is seen as a major success. In 2001, 17 chicks hatched in captivity, 2002 and 2003 produced 14 more -- figures that surpass what had been achieved by scientists in the United States, another country attempting to rescue this bird of prey.
Seven harpies have hatched in captivity in the United States, but over a period of 10 years.
However, despite the successes, a great deal is yet to be done to ensure the future of the harpy, which is endangered, like hundreds of bird species in Latin America and the Caribbean.
According to the United Nations Environment Program, there are more than 400 kinds of birds in the region that are classified as ''vulnerable'', ''endangered'', and ''gravely endangered''. The harpy eagle is one of them. This bird of prey can stand more than a meter tall, with a wingspan of more than two meters, and weigh around eight kilograms.
In the region there are more than 300 mammals that are threatened to different degrees, in addition to more than 150 types of fish, more than 100 reptiles and some 30 amphibians. The biggest numbers of endangered species are found in the countries with greatest biodiversity: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru.
What has been achieved with the harpy eagle is important, but it will be 20 to 25 years before it can be known whether the rescue project has achieved its goal, Magali Linares, director of the Peregrine Fund, which operates with the support of U.S. scientists and donors, told Tierramérica.
By 2006, it will be known whether the first five birds released have found mates and reproduced. The scientists then will determine how long the harpy's reproductive life lasts, calculate its mortality rate, continue the release program and finally distribute the birds throughout Mesoamerica (Mexico and Central America), the ideal habitat for this species.
''Our project is unprecedented in Latin America. Venezuela and Ecuador have shown interest in harpy eagle reproduction, but they have not yet carried out this type of program,'' said Linares.
The goal of the Peregrine Fund is for the species' full recovery in Panama, then in Belize, and ultimately in the greater part of the Mesoamerican region.
This large bird of prey, which despite its size generally tries to pass unnoticed, finds the humid tropical forest, up to altitudes of 800 meters above sea level, to be its ideal habitat.
The harpy's diet includes monkeys, sloths, parrots and certain reptiles.
The bird is threatened with extinction, but some can still be found in Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Peru and Venezuela.
In Panama, where the government declared the harpy eagle its national bird in 2002, there are fewer than 50 harpy nests. But that number will surely grow with the release of birds hatched in captivity once they are three years old.
''We are going to continue working for the harpy eagle,'' but the future of this species will also depend on rescue and conservation efforts in other countries and on a reduction of environmental pressures in the harpy habitat, said Linares.
* Diego Cevallos is an IPS correspondent.
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