– The eagles have simply learned to choose these habitats because of the thousands of traffic -dead animals that remain. These places become attractive to the eagles because they do not have to put energy into hunting, but at the same time it becomes a trap when they risk being hit, says Navinder Singh, senior lecturer at the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environment at SLU in Umeå.
The study is based on data from 74 GPS-labeled king eagles from all over the country that the researchers followed between 2010 and 2020.
5.5 times higher risk
The research study, published in the Science of the Total Environment, shows that the risk of dying for eagles who choose to live along roads and railways was 5.5 times higher compared to those who lived and sought food in other places.
– We also saw that young eagles were more likely to choose traffic -killed animals as food. Many of them end up in accidents and it can have major consequences for the population in the future, says Navinder Singh.
The same research group has previously shown that eagles that have died in traffic accidents have had a higher level of lead in the liver. The lead has come from ammunition that the eagles have received when eating slaughter residues. Lead poisoning has in turn changed the eagle’s movement behavior and air capacity.
One conclusion is that several different measures are required to reduce the risks of eagles to die in traffic accidents. One is to remove carcasses from railways and roads as soon as possible. Attempts are also being made to reduce the wildlife accidents by scaring animals from these places.
Statistics from the National Wildlife accident Council show that 650 king eagles and sea eagles died in traffic between 2010 and 2023. In addition, there is a large dark figure.