tailed eagles in Kerry breed for fifth year running
White-tailed sea eagles have successfully bred in Killarney, Ireland, for the fifth consecutive year. While the population is growing, illegal poisoning remains the primary threat to the species' survival.
Why it matters
This highlights the ongoing success of reintroduction programs while underscoring the persistent challenges of wildlife conservation and human-wildlife conflict.
A pair of white-tailed sea eagles have successfully bred on Killarney's largest lake, the lower lake, Lough Léin for the fifth successive year.
It is estimated there are now approximately 150 individual eagles in Ireland in the wild, enough to maintain and self-sustain the population, according to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).
Although so far this year the exact number of chicks born in the wild is unknown, there are 17 known pairs in total.
This week two juvenile chicks fledged the nest, and are finding their bearings along the shoreline at the westernmost end of the lake.
The white-tailed sea eagle programme with collaboration between the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research and the NPWS began in Killarney in 2007 when chicks were flown from Trondheim to Farranfore Airport in Kerry on a special flight.
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