Wild golden eagles set to return to skies of Snowdonia
WILD golden eagles are set to return to Wales for the first time in 200 years, as experts say that they should be released in Snowdonia.
The birds, which have a wingspan of up to 2.2m, have been largely extinct from England and Wales since 1850, leaving only Scotland as a stronghold.
But a study carried out by Wilder Britain and the University of Lancaster assessed different areas and found Snowdonia was the most feasible area for the largest conservation prospect ever to be proposed in Wales.
The first ever consultation on reintroducing the eagles begins today, with the public urged to have their say on plans to bring young eagles in from mainland Europe from 2021.
Dr Paul O’donoghue, director Wilder Britain, said the scientific evidence is “clear that Wales is a great place for wild golden eagles”.
“They belong here and it was one of the last places they lived before extinction,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “There’s a lot of cultural significance to golden eagles in Wales, and the Welsh name for Snowdonia means ‘home of the eagle’.
“Wales is arguably a better place than Scotland with its habitat and much less persecution. In a few years, we could see Wales as a stronghold for eagles in the whole of the UK. “Everyone wants to see golden eagles, everyone’s in awe of them and they’re a great driver for not only restoring ecosystems, but restoring struggling rural economies.” News of the consultation came as it emerged that the last surviving golden eagle in Wales had been found dead by a walker in the Abergwesyn Valley. It had originally been captive, before it was freed to live over the Cambrian Mountains in Tregaron, Powys. The cause of the bird’s death unknown and has been registered in the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme.