First time in my career!

I have been lucky enough to see the magnificent martial eagle on many safaris, even incredible moments like them hunting monkeys, impala lambs and lion cubs, but this is a first for me. I’ve been in the bush for 42 years and had never seen mating martial eagles! I was so excited and managed to get couple of pictures.

One of many good things about nature is that you have never seen everything and you keep learning until the end because every day is different. Here is some interesting information about the bird.

The martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) is a large eagle native to sub-Sahara Africa. It is the only member of the genus Polemaetus. It has feathers over its tarsus, one of the largest and most powerful species of booted eagle.

It is a fairly opportunistic predator that varies its prey selection between mammals, birds and reptiles. It is one of a few eagle species known to hunt primarily from a high soar, by stooping on its quarry. This species is an inhabitant of wooded belts or otherwise open savannahs. Sadly, it’s population has shown a precipitous decline in the last few centuries.

Due to a variety of factors, the martial eagle is one of the most persecuted bird species in the world due to its habit of taking livestock and regionally valuable game. Some farmers seek to eliminate martial eagles although the effect of eagle on this prey is almost certainly exaggerated. Currently, the martial eagle is classified with the status of Endangered by the IUCN.