Eagles are majestic creatures - not only because of their looks (because that'd be just shallow), but they're also admired for their intelligence and incredible predatory skills. It's no surprise that they are symbols of entire nations and countries, appear on national emblems, coins, and works of art. If you've ever wondered about this grand animal's journeys, scroll down below to read an amazing story about how one man's unexpected finding sparked curiosity for many people.
More info: Pikabu
A young man named Fahd Qash from Jizan region, Saudi Arabia found something unexpected in the swamp on his walk
Image credits: Faifa
What he found was a dead Steppe eagle with a GPS tracker device around its neck. Upon closer inspection, the man saw that the device had the owner’s email on it.
As it later turned out, the GPS has been fitted in Kazakhstan
Image credits: Faifa
The tracking device has saved all of the bird's migration maps. Turns out, scientists were doing an experiment where they attached GPS on supposedly 20 eagles and marked every single place they visited on their long trips. The birds of prey have crossed many countries, but, interestingly enough, stayed clear of the sea.
The map below shows all the traveling that these eagles did in one year
Image credits: Faifa
These eagles have crossed many countries in the Middle East and, it is not sure why they avoided the Caspian as well as the Red Sea.
Researchers team called “British Birds” have tracked 16 Steppe eagles before and found out that the longest daily bird flight distance among all tracked eagles was approximately 355km. They have also recorded that through a complete annual cycle, an eagle spends around 31.5% in the wintering area, 41.9% in the breeding area and the rest 26.6% on migration. These statistics, as well as the map, once again proves that eagles are a constantly moving and migrating creature who travels more in their lifetimes than you could ever imagine.
This map did receive a lot of attention online with people trying to guess why did these eagles migrate the way they did
The article has been updated after receiving additional information about the research proving that this, in fact, is not a journey of one eagle in 20 years but the research that tracked numerous bird migrations in one year.