Giant Belgrade mural calls for protection of eastern imperial eagle in Serbia

Petar Popović Piros has painted a noble bird on a wall in Dorćol neighbourhood, near the centre of Serbia’s capital city. The eastern imperial eagle is on the brink of disappearance in the Balkan country. The mural’s author highlighted the efforts by the Bird Protection and Study Society of Serbia to protect the aquila heliaca, of which only one nesting couple remains there.

The message is that the responsibility for the eastern imperial eagle is on the people, the organisation said and criticized the neglect. The number of animals in Serbia dwindled 90% in the last few decades. The last pair had offspring for the past three consecutive years in the north of the Banat region, the painter stressed.

The statement underscores the contribution of Carlsberg and the local citizens’ association Donji Dorćol (Lower Dorćol). Piros called on the inhabitants of Belgrade to get involved in saving the predatory species. The said society noted that one of the crucial impacts comes from the human factor, especially with the use of banned pesticides and reckless utilisation of those that are allowed.

“When you add to the issue the lack of trees where the eastern imperial eagles would nest as well as the scarcity of prey and the disturbance, the conclusion is that the intensive conservation efforts by our society for this species is more than necessary,” the press release adds.

Funds collected during a beer campaign will be used to set up new nests, research, habitat renewal, securing prey on the eastern imperial eagle’s territory, a nest protection programme, tree planting, installing cameras for nest oversight in real time and marking the birds with satellite transmitters, the birdwatchers said.