Imperial eagle (right), spotted at Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Wildlife enthusiasts have confirmed the presence of an Eastern Eagle that visited the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) during the winter migration season.
A pair of rare Eastern Eagles (Aquila heliaca) was spotted by Murali Moorthy. One particular image captures one of the raptors with another rare bird – the endangered Egyptian vulture.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr Murali said the birds breed mainly in West and Central Asia, while they also migrate to parts of Africa, the Middle East and also South and East Asia in winter.
Arockianathan Samson of the Bombay Natural History Society, who was part of a team of researchers that documented 58 species of predators in the MTR between 2011 and 2022, said the tiger reserve provides ideal habitat, food availability and a favorable climate for predators to flourish.
“Most raptors also prefer areas with little anthropogenic pressure and good food availability,” Mr Samson said.
During the breeding season, the golden eagle prefers open landscapes with scattered forests, commonly known as forest-steppe habitats. These areas provide tall trees for nesting and open spaces for hunting. The range of breeding extends over a large area – from Western Europe through Eastern Europe and Central Asia and on to Siberia and northwestern China.
As an apex predator, the golden eagle plays a vital role in maintaining ecological balance by controlling populations of rodents and other small animals. Its presence is often a sign of a healthy ecosystem.
However, habitat loss, disturbance and reduced food availability threaten this magnificent bird throughout its range. Protecting its nesting and wintering grounds is essential to ensure its survival, Mr Samson added.
This year saw a large influx of winter migrants, especially birds of prey, added Murali Moorthy, who said that while spotted eagles – another winter migratory species – were also recorded in 2024, the numbers were much higher this year.
Despite the encouraging sightings, conservationists have also appealed to the forest department and the Nilgiris district administration to consider imposing restrictions on the number of visitors allowed into the tiger reserve, especially during the peak tourist season months of summer and winter.
“Being a biodiversity hotspot, the tiger reserve is now also under pressures from tourism, probably the most visited region in the Nilgiris apart from the city of Ooty. These pressures will only increase in the coming years, so the government needs to start thinking about tourism policies that can be put in place to reduce such pressures. This will protect not only the native wildlife but also from the winter migrants who come every year to the world of nature conservation,” said MTR. Nilgiris.
“Continuous sightings of the Imperial Eagle have been documented through the global birding platform eBird from 2020 to 2025, confirming that the Imperial Eagle regularly visits Mudumalai, highlighting the importance of the landscape,” said Mr Samson, who also recorded the species in 2017.
“Most of these records were taken between November and February, which coincides with the species’ winter migration period. These repeated sightings strongly suggest that the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve serves as an important wintering area for the Imperial Eagle. The presence of open grasslands, forest edges and abundant prey in the reserve likely supports the species during its long stay outside its protected breeding grounds in Europe and Central Asia. A habitat for migratory birds, who travel thousands of kilometers across continents,” he added.
Published – 30 Dec 2025 21:12 IST
