11 April, 2014
‘Mowgli’ and ‘Brave’ flying high
A new satellite tracking project run by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) will boost understanding about the behaviour of golden eagles.
Two fledgling eagles were fitted with satellite tags, one in the Cairngorms Highland National Nature Reserve (NNR) the other on Rum NNR.
The transmitter is fitted as a mini back pack and powered by an integrated solar panel that sends signals to a satellite which records the birds’ movements on a daily basis.
Rum’s youngster, named ‘Mowgli’ by Rum Primary School pupils from the ‘Jungle Book’ series by Rudyard Kipling, moved out of his parents’ home range but remained on the island and was seen hunting and feeding on carrion.
Earlier this year Mowgli hopped islands, and was tracked on neighbouring Eigg.
‘Brave’ is the Cairngorm youngster who has moved more widely and visited the Angus Glens and Drumochter Hills.
“There can be few more awesome sights than seeing a golden eagle in flight and this project will allow us to learn more about golden eagles and their behaviour while helping pupils learn more about them,” Chris Donald, South Highland area operations manager, explained.
“We know that wildlife tourism is worth more than £115 million a year to the Scottish economy and is associated with almost 3,500 full-time equivalent jobs. This project will help shed some light on the movements and behaviour of what is a fascinating species.
“Satellite tags are useful in letting us catch a glimpse of their movements and the maps of these will be updated on a weekly basis and posted on SNH social media outlets to promote interest in our suite of National Nature Reserves and golden eagles.”
ENDS
Media inquiries: Fergus Macneill, SNH Public Relations: 01463 725021 fergus.macneill@snh.gov.uk
A free colour pic is available for one-off use. Please credit Lorne Gill/SNH.
Scottish Natural Heritage is the government's adviser on all aspects of nature and landscape across Scotland. Our role is to help everyone understand, value and enjoy Scotland's nature now and in the future. For more information, visit our website at www.snh.gov.uk
SNH media also on Twitter at http://twitter.com/SNH_Tweets
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