Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: GPS to Monitor Harpy Eagle

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

CARACAS, Sep 29 2008 (IPS) - Dozens of harpy eagles (Harpia harpyja) are being tracked by GPS, the satellite location system, after being captured and released for research in the Imataca mountains, in southeastern Venezuela. “Just one harpy needs more than 30 square kilometers of forest with its fauna in order to survive, and its habitat is threatened by human settlements, logging, mining and illegal hunting,” according to researcher Alexander Blanco, who is leading a harpy conservation project, an initiative of international organizations and the Venezuelan government.

The harpy is an eagle that stands one meter tall and has a wingspan of two meters. It can reach 200 km/hour in flight over the forests as it searches for food.