The world´s first Harpy eagle nest in wild recorded by a camera trap, the HarpyCam in Tambopata, Peru is powered by Rainforest Expeditions

Ever seen a harpy eagle in the wild? If the answer is yes – you’re lucky! Dr. Mark Bowler who has been working in Tambopata for 15 years has only ever seen a harpy eagle four times!

Harpy Eagle Nest!

This apex predator is incredibly difficult to spot in nature – so you can imagine how excited our research team was to have discovered a harpy eagle nest – with an egg (!) – near Refugio Amazonas.

After stumbling on this incredible discovery, our AmazonCam team carefully scaled a nearby tree and installed the world’s first HarpyCam – and today, we are monitoring the activity of the Harpy Couple, Kee Wai and Baawaja and their new (soon to be named) chick.

Harpy eagles (Harpia harpyja) are listed as Near Threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Hunting and habitat loss have contributed to a decreasing population in the birds’ native range in Central and South America. So researchers are especially excited about the opportunities for research and observation that the high- definition, around the clock camera, will grant them.

Did you know that Harpy Eagles are monogamous? They also have a low reproductive rate, hatching a chick once every two to three years; so scientists eagerly welcomed the new chick last weekend. While both parents incubated the egg, the female, Kee Wai, took on most of the responsibilities.

Following the hatching of their chick, both parents are feeding and caring for the youngster. Our research team intends to keep the camera on the nest throughout the chick-rearing phase, which can take up to two years.

Learn with us how this amazing creature will raise his chick through our series of videos.

By Daniel Couceiro

You are watching the world´s first remote camera recording a Harpy Eagle pair and their chick. This camera was located at Refugio Amazonas, Tambopata, Peru. HarpyCam is powered by Rainforest Expeditions and San Diego Zoo Global.