African Crowned Eagle
Scientific Name: Stephanoetus coronatus Afrikaans Name: Kroonarend Zulu Name: isiHuhwa
This species lives in dense indigenous bush and can take off almost vertically from the forest floor. During breeding season they perform undulating aerial courtship displays that are always accompanied by a beautiful serenade.
The Crowned Eagle living at the Sanctuary is named ‘Thor”. This male ‘crownie’ was found on the side of a road on the South coast. He had a badly broken wing and toe! They live in indigenous forest and hunt monkey, dassie and small antelope. So strong legs and wings are imperative to their survival.
These eagles are found commonly in the Highway area of KZN, but sadly they often come into conflict situations with people. It is believed that the outer Durban area has one of the densest populations of Crowned eagles in the world. So saying, there has been large scale development in this area resulting in an increased clash between eagle and man. Many young crowned eagles get into trouble as they are making their way in the world, because they mistakenly attempt to hunt a small dog or cat when they find insufficient wildlife to eat. Normally they spend most of their time perched in forest canopy looking for their prey. Now suburban homes are nestled under this forest canopy along with unsuspecting pets. The birds are now listed as threatened in the RED DATA BOOK