‘Juvenile black eagle will not be given a pet name’
According to BEPR photographer and monitor Johann van der Berg the project decided not to name the juvenile and future juveniles.
The breeding pair of Verreaux’s Eagles at the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden (WSNBG) has once again succeeded in breeding a strong and healthy juvenile.
However, Black Eagle Project Roodekrans (BEPR) has aligned itself with the thinking of other conservationists around the world in believing that an animal from the wild should not be given a ‘pet name’.
According to BEPR photographer and monitor Johann van der Berg the project decided not to name the juvenile and future juveniles.
Van der Berg revealed that the juvenile will be referred to as the juvenile of whatever year it was raised.
“We found it inappropriate to give a wild animal a pet name, only to forget the name once the juvenile leaves the breeding area.
“This black eagle family is most certainly still wild, it is for that reason that our records will show, that this juvenile will be known as the Juvenile of 2022 (Juve 2022),” explained Van der Berg.
BEPR confirmed that the eagles are still bringing in food, but they are starting to make life a bit more difficult for the youngster to encourage it to learn how to fend for itself, and eventually to leave the natal area.
While indications are that the juvenile will be leaving the natal area within the next few weeks, BEPR monitors will keep a close watch on further developments, and keep all the black eagle followers updated.
