With questions aplenty being asked with regard to Ithemba, the newest juvenile eagle, the Black Eagle Project Roodekrans (BEPR) has stressed that only one is relevant.
This year, despite the odds having been heavily stacked against them, Makatsa and Thulane managed to welcome another addition to their family, Ithemba. Ithemba hatched from its egg in mid-June and went unnamed for the entirety of its three-month tenure in the nest with its parents.
Catch a glimpse of Ithemba soaring through the skies here:
But, a week after it fledged, Ithemba’s name was released to the public, meaning ‘Hope’. The name meant a great deal to BEPR, with photographer Johann van den Berg saying, “We as conservationists ‘Hope’ that we will be able to give them a little more space to find food for their offspring”.
It was also Johann who pointed out the numerous questions being asked regarding Ithemba, such as: “Is it a male, or is it a female?”, “Where does the juvenile go to when it is ousted by the parents?”, and many more. “Are these questions relevant, or is it a gesture of showing interest, but not really getting involved?” Johann questioned. “Should we rather not ask the question, ‘What can I do to help?’.”
BEPR has answered this question efficiently, with the recent announcement of its Sugarbush Ridges Coalition with four other organisations, along with a crowdfunding page to go with it.
BEPR has joined hands with the Proteadal Conservation Association (PCA), Wild Orchids Southern Africa (WOSA), the Bankenveld Branch of the Botanical Society of SA (Botsoc), and the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden in the coalition which aims to preserve the black eagles’ hunting grounds, among many other objectives. The Coalition’s crowd-funding initiative aims to collect money to aid them in the numerous objectives they have laid out for the future.
You can do your bit by contributing here: https://www.thundafund.com/project/eagles.
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