Eagle to film crumbling glaciers as Earth warms
The images will be stunningly beautiful yet also hint of dire future consequences. Filmed with a camera mounted between his majestic wings, they’ll show how a white-tailed eagle named Victor sees the world as he flies over the Alps capturing its oncemagnificent glaciers now crumbling because of global warming.
Victor will embark upon five flights this week over the Alps. Organisers hope his spectacular eagle’s-view footage will help jolt the world out of climate-change apathy and toward swifter action to combat its effects.
His handler hopes that seeing the world as an eagle sees it will also convince viewers of the importance of protecting birds and their environments, especially after a devastating recent report chronicled their decline.
“How can you convince people to protect the birds and their environment if you never show them what the birds see?” he said.
Weather permitting, the nine-yearold Victor will set off today from the top of the Swiss mountain Piz Corvatsch and fly through Germany, Austria and Italy before ending his tour in France on October 7.
A colleague will release Victor from the top of each peak. During each flight, the eagle will fly three to five kilometres — and descend 1500 to 3000 meters. — in search of Travers below.