- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Djokovic 'overwhelmed' after 'greatest rival' Nadal's retirement
- Zelensky in Berlin says hopes war with Russia will end next year
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Djokovic proves staying power as progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Hurricane Milton leaves at least 16 dead as Florida cleans up
- Britain face 'ultimate challenge' in America's Cup duel with New Zealand
- Lebanon calls for 'immediate' ceasefire in Israel-Hezbollah war
- Nihon Hidankyo: Japan's A-bomb survivors awarded Nobel
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Boat captain rescued clinging to cooler in Gulf of Mexico after storm Milton
- Tears, warnings after Japan atomic survivors group win Nobel
- 'Unspeakable horror': the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- Christian villagers 'trapped' in south Lebanon crossfire
- Sabalenka sets up Gauff showdown in Wuhan semis
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Kim Sei-young holds lead with late birdies at LPGA Shanghai
- Toulouse welcome Dupont 'boost' as Olympic star returns to Top 14
- Japanese atomic bomb survivor group Nihon Hidankyo wins Nobel Peace Prize
- Deadly Israeli strike on Beirut likely targeted Hezbollah security chief
- Bangladesh Islamist chief backs crimes against humanity trial for ex-PM
- Everest climber's remains believed found after 100 years
- 20 Pakistan coal miners shot dead in attack
- Clashes on South China Sea, Ukraine dominate Asia summit
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Zelensky meets Pope, Scholz as whirlwind Europe tour ends
- Hello Hallyu: why is South Korean culture sweeping the globe?
- UK economy rebounds in August in boost to new govt
- Voice of Japan's beloved robot cat 'Doraemon' dies
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- 20 Pakistan coal miners shot dead in attack: police
- Blinken condemns China's 'increasingly dangerous' sea moves
- Toyota returns to Formula One as Haas partner
- EU chief says China must 'adapt its behaviour' to solve trade row
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- Lynx rally, stun Liberty in overtime in WNBA Finals opener
- Pogacar hunting 'perfect' season finale with Coppi's Il Lombardia record
- 'Soul of old Baghdad': city centre sees timid revival
- Kittle at the double as Niners hold off Seahawks
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Yankees advance in MLB playoffs as Guardians stay alive
- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- Kamada says Japan can close in on World Cup place against Australia
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- Renewables revolt in Sardinia, Italy's coal-fired island
RBGPF | -1.03% | 59.49 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0.58% | 6.92 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.14% | 24.555 | $ | |
NGG | 0.88% | 66.265 | $ | |
BTI | -0.04% | 35.095 | $ | |
RIO | 0.55% | 67.21 | $ | |
GSK | -1.03% | 38.811 | $ | |
AZN | 0.25% | 77.06 | $ | |
SCS | 2.48% | 12.92 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.28% | 24.7 | $ | |
RELX | 1.51% | 47.07 | $ | |
VOD | -0.78% | 9.665 | $ | |
BCC | 1.95% | 141.71 | $ | |
JRI | 0.08% | 13.23 | $ | |
BCE | 0.27% | 32.95 | $ | |
BP | -0.48% | 32.185 | $ |
In Colombia, a long, perilous romance to save the harpy eagle
Wounded and wary, the young couple appear to be into each other: their arranged romance, years in the making, is aimed at preserving the rapidly disappearing harpy eagle, one of the world's largest raptors.
In an immense dome in Colombia, biologists have recreated a tropical rainforest where they have slowly introduced the monogamous birds, hoping they will hit it off, mate and produce an eaglet.
That is, if the female does not get territorial and kill her suitor.
"A bad decision on our part could lead to an attack," said Luisa Escobar, research coordinator at Biopark La Reserva, a foundation outside Bogota working to preserve Colomia's rich biodiversity.
One of the world's most powerful and largest eagles, able to hunt monkeys and sloths, the harpy eagle has been hunted to near-extinction in some parts of its territory in Central America.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists it as vulnerable, saying the species was "rapidly declining" due to deforestation and hunting.
Most of an estimated 100,000 to 250,000 individuals remain in the Amazon, which spans nine countries.
Colombia's only captive harpy eagle pair was rescued separately in the southern Amazonas state in 2018.
- 'A lot of hope' -
The female, with a prominent gray crest, still has pellets in her body from when she was shot. They cannot be removed without risk of death.
The male, typically smaller, has a shattered left wing that veterinarians have been unable to repair.
They were separated for two years by a metal fence, but it was finally opened three weeks ago after they were spotted bumping beaks and feeding each other.
In other words, their keepers explained, they like each other.
Monitored by security cameras, the next test will be if they mate. Harpy eagles are notoriously slow breeders, raising only one chick every few years.
The couple's behavior is "so calm... it generates a lot of hope that they will have a baby," said Escobar, 26.
One meter tall and with a wingspan of up to two meters, the harpy eagle is the symbol of Colombia's airforce, and the national bird of Panama.
Their habitat once stretched from Mexico to northern Argentina, but in some countries, like El Salvador, the birds have disappeared entirely.
Poachers "kill them ... because they want them as trophies. They want to sell them, eat them, or take a photo" with their remains, said Mateo Giraldo, from the Colombian Large Birds of Prey Project.
Colombian authorities in 2021 seized 94 harpy eagle parts at the Bogota international airport.
The armed conflict that has haunted Colombia for six decades also makes it hard for scientists to study the raptor deep in the forests where it lives, said Giraldo.
Breeding chicks in captivity has proved successful in Panama and Brazil.
D.Kaufman--AMWN