Verreaux's Eagle: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Eagles · day 6 of 7

Five facts

1. Verreaux's eagles have been recorded hunting as a team: one flies past to distract the hyrax while the other strikes from behind.
2. Adult Verreaux's eagles are almost all jet-black, so their yellow eye-rings and 'eyebrows' really stand out.
3. A Cape hyrax weighs 1.8 to 5.5 kg, and the biggest ones can be heavier than the eagle hunting them.
4. People rarely get more than a glimpse of a hyrax, yet a Verreaux's eagle can head out and bring one back to the nest within minutes.
5. A pair of Verreaux's eagles with young may take around 400 hyrax over a year.

The quiz

1. When Verreaux's eagles hunt as a team, what does one eagle do?

• It distracts the prey while the other strikes from behind (correct)
• It digs the hyrax out
• It calls the pair's chicks
• It guards the nest

One eagle distracts the hyrax while the other strikes from behind.

2. What colour are the eye-rings of an adult Verreaux's eagle?

• Red
• Yellow (correct)
• White
• Blue

Adult Verreaux's eagles have yellow eye-rings that stand out against black plumage.

3. How heavy can a Cape hyrax be, at most?

• 3 kg
• 8 kg
• 5.5 kg (correct)
• 10 kg

A Cape hyrax weighs up to 5.5 kg.

4. How long can a Verreaux's eagle take to fly out and return to its nest with a kill?

• About an hour
• Several hours
• A full day
• Just a few minutes (correct)

It can fly out and return to its nest with a kill in just a few minutes.

5. About how many hyrax may a pair with young take in a year?

• Around 400 (correct)
• Around 40
• Around 4,000
• Around 100

A pair with young may take around 400 hyrax over a year.

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