The M artial Eagle

1. The Martial Eagle By Connor Gjurasic

2. Distributionand Habitat • Distribution in Southern half of Africa • Flat land is usually needed for their habitat • Prefer semi-desert and sub-Sahara

4. Other habitats are open woodland and wooded savanna • They stay close from 1,000 miles to 3,000 miles in sea level

5. Classification • Scientific name- PolemaetusBellicosus • Family- Accipatrade (Which means curved bills and eats small mammals and insects) • Order- Falconiformes (group of 304 species with curved bills and sharp talons) • Class- Aves (around 10,000 species of Aves and only animals with feathers)

6. Phylum- chordate(has four features: pharyngeal slits, dorsal nerve cord, notochord, and post-anal hole) • Kingdom- Animalia(means multicellular)

7. Conservation Status • Near endangered at 30,000 Martial Eagles • Population dropped 20% in last three generations and is declining • Main reason for loss in population is because of farmers • Farmers blame the Martial Eagles for the loss of their livestock, the reason ofthis is because the presence of a Martial Eagle shows a nutritious environment

8. Martial Eagles rarely even hunt livestock • Farmers kill the eagles by shooting or poisoning them • They drown in steep farming reservoirs • Also the Martial Eagle dies by collision with telephone wires and pylons

9. Physical Characteristics • Pelage- Feathers • Pelage is the coat of an animal such as fur, skin, hair, and feathers • Biggest African Eagle • Length- 76-83 cm • Wingspan- 190-260 cm • Weight- 7-14 lbs • Black head • Yellow eyes

10. Dark black beak • Dark brown back • White chest with black spots • Dark brown wings • White legs and feet • Large black talons • Young Martial Eagles are whiter than adults • Female is larger than the male • Dark brown barred tail

11. Young Martial Eagles are whiter than adults

12. Reproductive characteristics • These eagles don’t have a mating dance • Martial Eagles are monogamous(one Martial Eagle only has one mate for life) • When they have mating periods both the male and female will make a loud cry ”kwi-kwi-kluee-kluee” in the nest. • Females lay only one egg a year ,but rarely they lay two a year • Incubation is 45 days

13. Parental care • Hatchlings are active in 20 days • The young Martial Eagle leaves the nest at 6 months

14. The father brings food to the mother for her to give to the young eagle • The mother watchers over the young • Nests can be on a tree or a tall man-made structure • The nests are 20 to 80 ft high

15. Materials for the nest are large wood sticks and leaves that line the sticks

16. The diameter of the nest is 4 to 6 ft and is 4 ft thick • The eagles create more than one nest and are used every year

17. Longevity and Morality • Longevity is 30 years in protective care • Only 16 years in the wild for both male and female • Mortality is mostly from direct or indirect persecution • Direct persecution is from farmers killing them • Indirect persecution is from drowning in steep farming reservoirs and collision with telephone poles and wires • In South Africa there are a few facilities to protect the Martial Eagle from being endangered

18. Diet • Eat medium sized mammals such as monkeys, impala, goats, lambs, mongoose, European Stork, other birds, snakes, lizards, and warthogs

19. Predators • Doesn’t have any animal predators except maybe a leopard steeling an egg from a nest • Farmers are the main threat to the Martial Eagle • The Martial Eagle has lost most of its population because of farmers shooting or poisoning them • Tall manmade objects such as telephone poles have been an issue also • Another threat is because the loss of their habitat from destruction

20. People propose to make farming awareness programs for the farmers loss of stalk and anti-electrocution devices on telephone pylons

21. Human interactions • Martial Eagles try to stay away from humans because of the human persecution • There is a small quantity of people that have a Martial Eagle for falconry

22. Interesting facts • Strongest African eagle • The Martial Eagle can knock a man off their feet • Their talons are strong enough to break a man’s arm bone • The height of a Martial Eagle flying in the sky is barley able to be seen with binoculars • To keep clean they bathe daily

23. Works cited

24. Thank you