Frodo

Tawny Eagles belong to the family Accipitridae and the species name is Aquila rapax. They are fairly large eagles with a weight range from 1.7kg to 3kg, and have a wing length of up to 565mm. They are found mainly in two areas, sub-Saharan Africa (Mauritania east to Ethiopia and south to South Africa but not in the equatorial forest area) and south Asia (Iran, Pakistan and India). They are largely sedentary but there is some nomadic movement within each area.

They live in mostly open dry country, typically wooden savannah. There is quite a variation in plumage, with the pale morphs being almost white and the dark almost black, and this can cause confusion with other species. Their prey is a wide range of mammals up to 2kg in size, birds, including flamingos, and reptiles. They take insects like termites and sometimes fish. Carrion is frequently eaten, which means that they can be found, along with the vultures, on a carcass up to the size of an elephant, and are often seen near villages and slaughterhouses. They can be quite opportunistic and will rob other birds including raptors. The nest is a large stick structure often high in an Acacia tree. Two eggs are normally laid, with incubation taking 39-45 days; the young fledge at between 76-85days and will stay with the parents for about a further 6 weeks or even up until the next breeding season.

Frodo on an Activity Day

Frodo, our Tawny Eagle, is 22 years old and came to us from another collection in 1983. He has been part of our display team for many years. One of the highlights of his display is when he simulates the chasing and catching of a rabbit. The ‘rabbit’ is actually a remote controlled car disguised as a rabbit, and which magically appears from some rough grass and is then hotly pursued by Frodo. This is accompanied by gasps of horror from some of the audience until they realise that the ‘rabbit’ isn’t real! Actually, Frodo rather dislikes flying and treats it simply as a duty that he has to perform.

The only time that he seemed to genuinely rise to the task was when he was featuring in a film called ‘The Eye of the Eagle.’ He flew beautifully on location in Scandinavia and Scotland. He was so important to the story that he was third in the order of credits after the two leading actors. (His handlers were simply referred to as ‘bird wranglers’ at the bottom of the list). He is a fairly sensitive soul who has a real dislike and fear of wheelchairs and walking sticks. He is a pretty quiet bird except when excited when he makes what could be described as a grumbling mumble.

His most memorable exploit on the park was on the day that he found a dead rabbit during his display. He took it up into one of the large beech trees near the flying area and proceeded to devour it. The problem was that he was so satisfied with his meal that he failed to come down for eight days! He is quite a character with a mind of his own, but he has a genuinely nice nature and this makes him ideally suited to be part of our activity day team, and at present he is thrilling the guests when he flies to their fists.

Paddy

It was thought that the Steppe Eagle, Aquila nipalensis, was the same pecies as the Tawny Eagle, but modern DNA testing has proved them to be just closely related. They are very similar eagles in size and stature, but the Steppe eagle has darker plumage and a slightly larger gape. Their range is from south-eastern Europe, east through Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan to Mongolia. They are an entirely migratory bird, wintering in Arabia, east and southern Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Their diet is broadly similar to that of the Tawny Eagle.

Our Steppe Eagle is Paddy who is around 20 years old, and who arrived here in 1988. He was wild taken, disabled and was being used as a street exhibit in Saudi Arabia.

An Irish businessman rescued him from this existence and arranged to bring him to the UK. Paddy was classed as a Saudi national and it was necessary for him to have permission to leave the country. This was sought from the Saudi ministry of the interior and the minister who was a member of the Saudi royal family signed his documents. Thus Paddy became one of the first birds with a ‘passport’ and to have royal assent to leave the country. He is living a happy retirement in an aviary with Trevor our very old Bateleur Eagle.