AN EAGLE called Ar-nold, fitted with a solar transmitter enabling experts and the general public to track his whereabouts, entered the warzone in Syria in late September as part of his migratory route to Africa, where he spends his winters.
Arnold embarked on his journey some time ago. In Turkey, the lesser spotted eagle (Aquila pomarina) flew over 300 kilometres in a single day, head of the Tatra National Park (TANAP) administration Pavol Majko told the TASR newswire.
“He is not able to fly long [distances] above the sea, as there are no hot airstreams there, and so he is forced to circle around the Mediterranean Sea, which can be seen very clearly on the map showing his positions,” Majko said.
He added that the protectionists who placed the transmitter on Arnold were worried about the fact that in the Middle East birds of prey are often shot, the Sme daily wrote.
Majko said that Arnold was likely headed for Tanzania, where he would spend the winter before returning to Slovakia in spring.
Arnold was given a GSM satellite transmitter in August; it shows his position every two hours, and anyone can follow his whereabouts via the spravatanap.sk website.
