EDITOR – While I can appreciate the sorrow of people losing their pets to indigenous birds, as an active member of Birdlife South Africa I would like to add more defence on behalf of the birds.
Firstly, the birds were here first and, just like the monkeys and their constant nuisances, we should respect our environment and understand just why these creatures act as they do.
The crowned eagle’s natural habitat is riverine and coastal forest, usually associated with cliffs. His favourite diet is young monkeys, and this would be nature’s population control measure.
Now, as we all know, the monkey problem in the suburbs and cities is out of control because humans feed them, either consciously or unintentionally.
Human food is easy pickings, so why should the monkeys stay in the declining forests? So they leave their natural habitat, come to eat our food, molest our children and breed uncontrollably.
Then, with fewer monkeys for the eagles to feed on in the forests, they target other small mammals and enter our suburbs.
The only sure way to protect your small pets is, as has been suggested, to protect their area with wire mesh. Removing the eagles won’t solve the problem because other eagles will soon take up their vacated territory.
Pity there isn’t a simple solution.
Mike Roseblade
Westville
