A royal aiglon took off in mid-July in the Jura department, in neighboring France. This second recent flight testifies to the gradual return of this large raptor in the region, the Haut-Jura Regional Natural Park announced on Friday.
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Born between May 1 and 4 near Saint-Claude, the young bird stayed two and a half months in his nest before setting off in the air between July 12 and 14, said Pierre Durlet, from the Haut-Jura Regional Natural Park.
The Royal Eagle had disappeared from the Jura, victim of hunting and superstitions. He had withdrew in the Alps and the Pyrenees, before timidly recoloning his old territories.
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This is the second flight observed in the department in four years, after a first birth in May 2021. “For us, it is a real symbol,” said Pierre Durlet, recalling that the 1972 raptor protection law and that on the 1976 nature played a decisive role.
Thanks to the end of persecution and the protection of its natural environments, the species gradually regains foot in the Jura massif. The territory today has twelve nesting couples: six in Ain, one in the Jura and the other Swiss side.
In France, the population of royal eagles is estimated between 390 and 450 couples, according to the bird protection league (LPO). If their presence remains concentrated in mountain areas, their slow expansion in the Jura is perceived as an encouraging sign for biodiversity.
