One of Britain’s most iconic birds, the golden eagle, is poised to make a return to England after more than 150 years after the UK Government paved the way for a recovery programme that could include reintroduction.
Once widespread across England and mentioned more than 40 times by Shakespeare, golden eagles were virtually wiped out by persecution during the Victorian era. Only a handful of pairs have been seen in England since and the last eagle died in the Lake District in 2016, News Cover reports, citing the UK government's official website.
But a study published by Forestry England today confirms that England has the capacity to sustain golden eagle populations once more, with eight potential ‘recovery zones’, mostly in the north of England, identified as being the most suitable areas.
The Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds has welcomed the study’s findings and approved £1m of additional funding to explore a reintroduction programme with the potential for juveniles, six to eight weeks old, to be released as early as next year.
