Hamas in the eagle’s eye

At a check dam in the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary, a forest and wildlife department field guard, Sagar, stumbled upon vivid moments of predation

The contrast in the expressions mirrored in the eyes of the hunter and the prey can be vivid. The hunter with a fierce look of conquest radiating from his eyes while the subject’s eyeballs seem on the verge of bursting with terror.

The conquering eagle obliged with different poses and was photographed with just a smartphone by Sagar, whose diligent and pro-active work in protecting wildlife and forests had earlier won him a formal commendation from the department. (HT)

At a check dam in the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary, a forest and wildlife department field guard, Sagar, stumbled upon vivid moments of predation. A Bonelli’s eagle had pinned a Little egret in its talons supported by long, powerful legs evoking the magnificence of superbly-limbed African Olympic runners.

A beak so severely aquiline, it evoked the dread of a hanging butcher’s hook. Naturally, the distress in the snowy bird’s eyes was seeped in fatalism. It was as if the petite bird’s irises had turned into tongues and were screaming the sounds of silence, the proverbial swan song that no one could hear but everyone could see. The expressions of that fatal scene recalled to mind videos beamed from Israel. Of damsels in the clutches of Hamas terrorists, of a dead one in a bikini with a Hamas leg parked over her in a pick-up truck...and those beauties (booties) of war seized fully by the enormity of what would befall them as hostages, to be ravaged in body, mind and soul.

The eagle was an immature specimen. A somewhat novice expression or awkwardness at handling the egret were apparent in the predator’s demeanour as it dug into the helpless egret but was yet to deliver the coup de grace. Raptors can get so totally involved with the hunt that they are loath to jettison the hard-won prey even if humans venture close. The stubborn eagle with its feet into the prey was like a Maharaja with a smoking rifle, his leg poised proudly on the tiger.

The conquering eagle obliged with different poses and was photographed with just a smartphone by Sagar, whose diligent and pro-active work in protecting wildlife and forests had earlier won him a formal commendation from the department.

Field staff secure priceless observations as they are well-versed with the terrain and the habits of wild creatures. Their anecdotal recalls from the remotest areas and the most inhospitable of times and climes --- where even researchers, tourists and wildlife photographers don’t always get access --- are virtually logs of jungle lore. Smartphone cameras have facilitated garnering of photographic / video evidence that has lent value addition to their plethora of jungle tales. It is a pity their grassroots knowledge and understanding of Nature is not put to better use by researchers, institutes and governments in deepening insights into wildlife behaviours. This is a somewhat neglected field of study in contemporary India, which British naturalists of the Raj and Indians groomed in that era had excelled in.

The Bonelli’s eagle is a resident of the foothills. Despite its slender build, the eagle can bring down prey much larger than its size. A bold and agile raptor, the Bonelli’s can hunt quarry which eagle species twice its size are equipped to take down.

The Bonelli’s has been recorded bringing down sturdy Monitor lizards (Goh), Black buck fawns, hares, Painted storks, Macqueen’s bustard, peafowl and migratory waterfowl as large as Greylag geese/Ruddy shelducks.

They are adept at hunting in pairs, with one flushing and scattering a flock and the lurking spouse then swooping down on a laggard or panicky bird which has got isolated. In the days of falconry, Bonelli’s eagles were trained to bring down Chinkaras and foxes.

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