Sea Eagles Eat Sheep

Sheep farmers in remote Northern Scotland are upset over a conservation plan that has been releasing once extinct sea eagles into the region because they feast on lambs up to one year old.

While they claim to have lost up to 200 lambs over the last five years, conservationists question that number. The sea eagles have a wingspan of up to 8-9' and can weigh up to nearly 20 lbs. Conservationists began releasing them back into the area in 1975, after they had been extinct in the region for most of the 20^th-Century.

The eagles are a source of income for the area, bringing in tourists. Large sheep bones were found in nests, but conservationists say they were of a size to suggest they had been scavenged. They called the reported number of missing lambs "extremely surprising."

© C Harris Lynn, 2008