Giant sea eagle

Giant sea eagle

The plumage of the giant sea eagle is dark brown to black in colour. Its shoulders, tail and the feathers on its legs are white in colour. Its wings are quite short compared to its immense body size, but its tail is relatively long. Its most striking feature is certainly its yellow, extremely large and powerful beak. Males and females share the same appearance. However, the females are significantly larger and, above all, heavier than the males.

Nutrition

It feeds mainly on fish, preferably species from the salmon family such as trout, salmon and grayling. Various waterfowl also play an important role, such as guillemots, ducks, gulls and geese, some of which it even catches in flight. If its preferred prey is not sufficiently available, the giant sea eagle does not disdain carrion or hunts land mammals such as hares and foxes. When hunting, it keeps an eye out for its prey from a high perch or from the air before swooping down to kill it. When hunting fish, only its legs are submerged. The rest of its body does not touch the surface.

Distribution

The eagle only occurs in a narrow strip between Siberia, Japan and Korea, along the Pacific coast of East Asia.

The favoured habitats of the giant sea eagle are the shallow and rocky coasts of the Pacific Ocean, as well as large lakes and rivers inland.

The breeding season of the giant sea eagle is between April and May. It lives a strictly monogamous life and mates for many years, possibly even for life. The nest is built in a tree or on a cliff from large branches and can reach a size of up to 4 metres. The female lays 1 to 3 eggs in the nest, which are incubated for around 40 days. The hatched young then need another 70 days or so to fledge and leave the nest. In most cases, however, only one of the hatchlings manages this. The others fall victim to disease or drop out of the nest.

The population of the giant sea eagle is currently classified as endangered by the World Conservation Organisation. The population is estimated at only around 5,000 individuals still living in the wild. The main reasons for this are the destruction of the habitat by hydroelectric power stations and oil companies as well as lead and DDT poisoning during feeding. Various conservation projects in Japan and Kamchatka are currently trying to save the giant eagle from extinction.