Eagle Feeding VS Eagle Watching

In many mangrove trips run in Langkawi, midway through your journey the boat will stop at the small cave. Then, the boatman will start tossing some chicken entrails and skin into the water. Within minutes tens of Brahminy Kites and several White Bellied Sea Eagles arrive screeching and swooping down over the water to pick up the food. While it may seem like a wonderful sight with that many raptors converging over small area. This misplaced kindness is causing a lot of harm to these raptors.

Raptors required a diet rich with protein and calcium which they derive by preying on fishes and sea snakes in the wild. Protein and calcium are very important in development of strong muscles, healthy bones and feathers, whereas a diet of commercially farmed chicken entrails and skin are rich in fat, antibiotics and synthetic hormones. These, will seriously impact the health of the wild birds and indirectly the ecology it lives in.

In future, we may see an increase in the population of sea snakes and inferior quality fish. That will further impact the food chain. This will definitely create an imbalance in the entire ecosystem. Thus, for the sake of our wildlife ecosystem and nature, we should turn this to eagle watching. Instead of feeding, eagle watching will provide visitor with the real nature habits of raptors as well as conserve their ecology.

Don’t let this amazing wildlife destruct because of our passionate love towards them. Lets not love them to death!!.
Let them survive in their natural way.
Don’t feed wildlife.
Keep them wild!

Pictures with thanks by Gerry Worth

Previous
Next