Eagles may soar over Killarney after 100-year absence

A HUGE bird of prey extinct in Cork and Kerry for about 100 years may be reintroduced to Killarney National Park.

An expert committee is working on a project to bring back the white-tailed sea eagle, the fourth-largest eagle in the world with a wing span up to eight feet.

The park authorities have had meetings with the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) which yesterday claimed the eagles could take lambs.

However, National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) regional manager Eamon Meskell said the eagles would not pose a serious threat to lambs as they were mainly carrion-eaters.

“They feed largely on dead porpoises and seals, spent salmon and other fish,” he said.

They also prey on water birds such as duck, herons and gulls.

Upwards of 350 pairs of white-tailed eagles are said to be thriving in Norway and the NPWS has already had consultations with Norwegian scientists and farmers who, Mr Meskell said, did not foresee any major problems if birds were to be reintroduced here.

“The Norwegians who visited here were really impressed with the coastline of Cork and Kerry as being very suitable. They felt it was even better than what they have at home for the eagles,” he added.

The proposal is to use Killarney National Park as a base for eaglets, which would then spread out, chiefly to coastal areas.

Kerry IFA chairman John Stack said farmers feared the eagles could spread disease. He said farmers were also concerned that even more land would be designated for conservation purposes were the eagles to be brought back.

However, Mr Meskell said most of the proposed habitat for the brown-plumaged, white-tailed eagles in the south-west had already been designated for conservation.

He said a final decision had not yet been taken on whether to reintroduce the eagles.

White-tailed eagles became extinct in Britain in the early 1900s. Despite a lengthy re-introduction scheme, their numbers in the highlands and western islands of Scotland are still very low, estimated at around 20 pairs.

White-tailed eagles have a low reproductive rate and do not start breeding until they are five or six years old.

Meanwhile, the reintroduction of golden eagles to Glenveagh National Park in Co Donegal in 2001 has been hailed as a success. Two young golden eagles bred there last year, after an absence of 95 years.