Ukraine War Putting Endangered Eagles at Risk

The Ukraine war is altering the route of endangered migratory eagles and putting them at risk.

A study published in the journal Current Biology found that while migrating through the war-torn country in 2022, greater spotted eagles confronted multiple conflicts that altered their usual migratory path. The eagles are a vulnerable species listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, meaning the war's effects on them are a great concern.

"Polesia—a large wetland area spanning the border between Belarus and Ukraine—is an important stronghold for greater spotted eagles in Europe, with 150 pairs breeding here," Charlie Russell of Britain's University of East Anglia, an author of the study, told Newsweek.

"Most of the birds in this population will have migrated through or are resident in areas affected by the conflict," he continued. "Any impacts on this population, including any adult mortalities or reduced breeding success, would be significant for conserving an already struggling species."

Researchers from the University of East Anglia, the Estonian University of Life Sciences and the British Trust for Ornithology had been tagging these eagles since 2017 to learn more about them. Then Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. This was shortly before 21 of the tagged eagles entered the Ukraine border on their usual migration route.

On March 3, the first of 21 tagged greater spotted eagles crossed into Ukraine on their usual migration, the study reported. Through GPS data, the researchers found that the eagles used regular stopover sites a lot less than usual during times of conflict. This alone was concerning, as eagles use these stopover sites to hunt, hydrate and shelter. Researchers also found that eagles started changing their usual routes.

Overall, diverted migratory patterns meant the eagles were late in getting to their breeding grounds. All of the eagles studied survived, but that does not mean they were not adversely affected.

"Armed conflicts can have wide-ranging impacts on the environment, including changes in animal behavior," Russell said in a statement.

He went on: "Our study provides the first quantitative evidence of this, showing how migrating eagles made deviations to avoid conflict events and spent less time refueling at stopover sites. It also indicates that there are potentially many human activities, beyond wars, that likely change or impact animal behavior. We did not expect to be following these birds as they migrated through an active conflict zone."

This study was an unexpected one, but it presented a rare opportunity for researchers to analyze how human conflict affects wildlife. While it has always been clear that such conflict affects wildlife in negative ways, the exact effects have been hard to study.

Based on their findings, the researchers said that post-conflict recovery needs to focus more on the local ecosystems.

"We don't believe the conflict will impact long-term migration patterns for the species," Russell told Newsweek. "Our results are most likely around encountering instantaneous or sporadic events which cause the eagles to respond by flying further to avoid events and making fewer stopovers. Cumulatively this will result in reduced fitness going into the breeding period, which could have delayed breeding and impacted the parents' ability to incubate or provision for their young."

He said researchers will continue to monitor the war's effects on greater spotted eagles.

"Understanding the impacts of conflict on the environment is a growing area of research, and studies like this will help us support not just greater spotted eagles but whole ecosystems as they recover in a post-conflict setting," he said.

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