It is safe to say that the breeding pair of Verreaux’s eagles at the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden (WSNBG) is almost through the first half of this year and after all the good summer rain, it is time for the cold and dry winter as we know it on the Highveld.
Black Eagle Project Roodekrans (BEPR) followers and raptor admirers watched their beloved Makatsa and Mahlori at the beginning of the breeding season when the pair worked hard to get the nest ready for the young one.
Lots of sticks and branches were taken to the nest, and at the beginning of April, the nest was lined with green sprays.
Based on Makatsa’s behaviour after April 10, BEPR assumed that the first egg was laid around that time as Makatsa was constantly on the nest incubating the eggs.
Due to the depth of the cup of the nest, the BEPR monitors were unable to see via the Africam video link if two eggs had been laid, or not.
During the 44 days of incubation, Mahlori did his duty by bringing food for Makatsa, and taking over the incubation duty while she ate and exercised her wings.
At the end of the period, BEPR watched closely to see when prey was brought to the nest itself, a sure sign that the first egg had hatched.
“It was right on time, and we could watch Makatsa feeding the chick on the African live feed.
“We could also see the second chick moving around after four days, but nature took its course, and the second chick was killed a few days later by the older sibling.
“We, as humans, tend to get emotional about this act, but nature has a very good reason for this,” said BEPR photographer and observer Johann van den Berg.
According to Johann, the second black eagle chick hatched and inevitably died due to obligate siblicide. This is also known as Cainism and occurs when the first hatched chick attacks and eventually kills its sibling.
BEPR confirmed to the Record that the chick is growing at a phenomenal rate, and the parents are now forced to work very hard to supply it with enough food.
“One of our monitors, Dougie Crewe, was very fortunate to witness first-hand how Mahlori caught a dassie on the rocks, not even a hundred metres from the nest.
“Everything is on track, and we are all looking forward to the day when the fully feathered youngster trots around the nest, testing its wings, and getting ready to take that leap of faith,” said Johann.
