Rare eagle from Finland shot in Turkey

BURDUR – Doğan News Agency

A rare fish eagle, which had been recorded in Finland, has been found shot in the southern Turkish province of Burdur’s Bucak district. 

The eagle, which was found by a local resident after apparently being shot, was initially taken for treatment to the Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks and then transferred to the Lisinia Wildlife Protection and Rehabilitation Center in Burdur.

A vet at the center, Öztürk Sarıca, said many European birds crossed Turkey on their migration routes. 
He said important works had been conducted in recent years to increase the number of fish eagles, an endangered species that eats fish and can live up to 25 years.

The animal found in Burdur has serious wounds on its right wing and Sarıca said they would treat it over the next two-three weeks before releasing it back into its natural habitat. 

“Unfortunately it was shot by hunters. Fish eagles can live up to 25 years but only around 10 percent of them actually reach this age [due to hunting]. In recent years, special nests have been made in Europe by conservationists for this bird to live longer and reproduce more, and its population has been revived thanks to these efforts. From what we can tell, this bird was part of this program and came from Helsinki. So it had come a long way but it was shot in Turkey by hunters,” Sarıca said. 

“There are certain bans on hunting. We should at least not shoot animals whose meat we don’t intend to eat. These wild animals are a part of nature and they have a function there. When they are shot, a part of the chain is broken,” he added.