Exmoor National Park has become home to six young white-tailed eagles, reintroduced to the area as part of a conservation effort aimed at restoring a native species. The birds were collected under a NatureScot license from the wild in Scotland earlier this year and released onto Exmoor.
Exmoor was selected for the reintroduction due to tracking data indicating that several white-tailed eagles frequently visited the area. The national park's coastline is considered ideal foraging and breeding habitat, with an abundance of fish.
Zoe Smith of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation stated that the initiative aims to re-establish a species that was once present in the region but has since been removed from the landscape. The foundation indicated that a lengthy consultation process precedes the licensing for such releases. During this process, only one chick is taken at a time from nests, and all birds are checked for avian flu prior to their release.
Over the next three years, up to 20 additional young white-tailed eagles are planned for release in the area. This ongoing program seeks to build a self-sustaining population of these large birds of prey.