Hunting Rabbits With Golden Eagles, Kazakhstan

At one time, the Golden Eagle lived in a great majority of temperate Europe, North Asia, North America, North Africa, and Japan. Although widespread and quite secure in some areas, in many parts of the range Golden Eagles have experienced sharp population declines and have even been extirpated from some areas. The total number of individual Golden Eagles from around the range is estimated to range somewhere between 170,000 and 250,000 while the estimated total number of breeding pairs ranges from 60,000 to 100,000. Few other eagle species are as numerous, though some species like Tawny Eagle, Wedge-tailed Eagle and Bald Eagle have total estimated populations of a similar size to the Golden Eagle’s despite having distributions which are more restricted. The world’s most populous eagle may be the African Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer), which has a stable total population estimated at 300,000 individuals and is found solely in Africa. On a global scale, the Golden Eagle is not considered threatened by the IUCN.
• Eurasia
In Europe, there are an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 breeding pairs. There was a great decline in Central Europe where they are now essentially restricted to the Apennine, Alps, and Carpathian Mountains. The strongholds in the continent are Spain, which holds an estimated 1,300 breeding pairs, Norway, which holds an estimated 860 to 1,040 breeding pairs and European Russia, which holds an estimated 500 to 1,000 breeding pairs. Other European countries with stable and sizable populations include Italy, with an estimated 476-541 pairs, Switzerland, with 300-310 pairs and Romania, with an estimated 85-130 pairs. The following nations are thought to have Golden Eagle populations that are increasing: Bulgaria with 150-170 pairs, Denmark with 1 known breeding pair, Finland with an estimated 300-350 pairs, France with approximately 390-460 pairs, Hungary with 3-5 known pairs, Ireland with 2 current pairs and Poland with approximately 35-40 pairs. The following nations are thought to have decreasing Golden Eagle populations: Albania with about 50-200 pair, Croatia with approximately 90-110 pairs, England with no known current pairs, Greece with an estimated 100-200 breeding pairs and Latvia with somewhere around 5-10 pairs. Several other European countries have a small number of Golden Eagles with less than 50 breeding pairs but with populations that are generally considered stable. Despite their large population there, the Golden Eagle was considered near threatened in Spain in a 2003 report. One of the authors of the previous study asserted that the population had increased in 2008 by perhaps 20% in Spain since the last survey in the late 1990s. In Belarus, the population has reportedly declined considerably due to trapping, poisoning and the draining and development of upland bogs. The Golden Eagle is considered Critically Endangered in the Czech Republic, where it was once quite common in the Beskydy and Krkonoše Mountains until logging hit the area hard around the time of World War II. All recent breeding attempts by the species in the Czech Republic are believed to have been unsuccessful.
In Britain, the last comprehensive survey of Golden Eagles took place in 2003, and found 442 occupied territories. A less thorough survey in 2007 showed that in addition to large numbers of territories in the Scottish Highlands and the Inner and Outer Hebrides, there were a handful of birds in southern Scotland and northern England. The population is higher today in Scotland than it was in the 19th century, due to the heavy persecution at that time by sheep farmers, gamekeepers, and collectors. There may have been as few as 190 pairs in the 1950s, though this survey may have not been complete. Between 1969 and 2003 they nested in the Lake District, Cumbria. In Ireland, where it had been extinct due to hunting since 1912, efforts are being made to re-introduce the species. In April 2007, a pair of Golden Eagles produced the first chick to be hatched in the Republic of Ireland in nearly a century. Forty-six birds were released into the wild in Glenveagh National Park, County Donegal, from 2001 to 2006, with at least three known female fatalities since then. It is intended to release a total of sixty birds, to ensure a viable population. The reintroduced Golden Eagles at the park produced a pair of fledglings for the first time in 2011. The Golden Eagle is classified as bird of “High Conservation Concern” in Ireland.