Golden eagle soars again after rescue in Tunisia
AFP:
Aquila, a rescued golden eagle, was grounded after captors in Tunisia clipped his wings, but after months of rehabilitation he was set free — a rare success story in a country where wildlife is threatened by climate change and human activity.
“ResQ,” a programme launched two years ago by the Tunisian Wildlife Association (ATVS), has given Aquila a second chance as birds and other animals increasingly fall victim to poaching, habitat loss and extreme weather.
Run by about 40 conservationists — mainly young students but also professionals — the initiative rescues injured animals and raises awareness of wildlife in the North African country.
“When we rescue these birds, their wings are often cut, and they’re in terrible shape,” said Ridha Ouni, who looked after Aquila and heads the Tunisian Ornithology Association.
“It’s heartbreaking to see such noble creatures treated this way.”
The golden eagle, scientific name Aquila chrysaetos, is protected under Tunisian law and listed as a threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Despite that, it is often illegally hunted and trapped, while droughts and other climate-related changes shrink its habitat, according to IUCN.
Aquila was seized from a private owner in July 2024 in the semi-desert region of Gabes, before being transferred to Ouni’s rehabilitation centre on his farm in Sidi Thabet.
The farm also shelters a dozen rescued falcons, harriers and kites — many with clipped wings — as we as fennec foxes and wolves.
More than 200 animals have passed through the makeshift rehab centre, said Ouni, who added that releasing Aquila from the peak of Mount Sidi Zid gave him the best chance of survival.
“Now it’s migration season, the best time to release him,” said the self-taught conservationist now in his 60s, watching as the bird took flight.
For Jamila Bouayed, the 32-year-old director of ATVS, the moment was deeply moving: “rehabilitating a wild animal and returning it to nature is exceptional.”
