The Harpy Eagle in Tambopata nest mainly on Ironwood Trees (Dipterix micrantha), one of the most commercial woods which are exported to make parquet floors, charcoal, and home furniture, among others. The expansion of logging, agriculture, and illegal mining have made the population of the Harpy Eagles dwindled considerably making finding an efficient nest increasingly difficult. (Photo by Diego Balbuena)

WHAT IS

HARPYCAM?

The Wired Amazon researchers have carefully placed a remote camera, near a harpy eagle nest where a pair and its chick are being monitored in the rainforest to study the behavior of this near-threatened species (IUCN), an apex predator in the Peruvian Amazon. For this reason, the HarpyCam, located about 90 feet high on a neighboring tree from the nest, transmits live footage down to a screen located in a protected blind, where researchers can follow and record their movements. Our researchers have studied this pair before in 2015 and were very excited to observe new developments with this year´s offspring.

This camera is located at Refugio Amazonas in Tambopata, Madre de Dios - Peru. The #HarpyCam is powered by Rainforest Expeditions and San Diego Zoo Global.

 

 

WATCH THE

HARPYCAM

ABOUT THE

HARPY EAGLE FAMILY

The pair of eagles (Harpia harpyja), the male: Baawaja (meaning Tambopata in Ese eja) and the female: Kee Wai (meaning harpy in Ese eja), welcomed their chick the week of June 23^rd  near Refugio Amazonas lodge. Since then, we have been observing how the chick has been developing, gaining weight and being more active day by day. We have seen different primates being brought to the nest like Howler monkeys (Alouatta sara) and Squirrel Monkeys (Saimiri boliviensis) which are an important part of their diet.

This elusive eagle is the largest and most powerful raptor found in the Americas. It is rare to spot; its current population is decreasing due to habitat loss and it is estimated that there are about 50,000 individuals left in the wild throughout its range. This range includes eighteen countries, from Argentina to Mexico, primarily in lowland tropical rainforests. CITES has it in Appendix I and II, with reintroduction programs undertaken in Panama and Belize.

WHAT WE HAVE LEARN

FROM HARPYCAM?

1. The harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) is one of the main predators of arboreal mammals in the neotropics, affecting the ecology and behavior of these species.
2. Knowledge of harpy eagle diets across their geographical range is inconsistent, the ability of harpy eagles to adapt to changing habitats is still open to question.
3. The three main species in the diet of harpy eagles nesting at Tambopata were porcupines, howler monkeys, and two-toed sloths, all species that do well in disturbed forests.
4. We conclude that harpy eagles can reproduce in secondary forests, feeding on abundant disturbance-tolerant species, if they themselves are not hunted and their nesting trees are conserved.
5. Harpy eagle nests have a high value for tourism, and strategies that allow landowners to benefit from harpy eagles nesting on their property through revenues from tourism may be instrumental in incentivizing the conservation of forests and emergent trees, and the regeneration of forests in anthropogenic landscapes.