Eagle which tried to grab girl ... finally caught

Eagle which tried to grab girl ... finally caught

A large eagle which swooped down on four small children in the village of Sucharitha in Anuradhapura day-before-yesterday (14) had tried to carry them away and while child who sustained injuries in the process was treated by hospital and finally the villagers managed to get hold of the eagle and hand it over to Anuradhapura Wildlife office.

It was A. Devmini Amaya Chandrasekera, a seven year old girl residing in Sucharitha village who was so injured in this incident. She had minor injuries and had taken treatment at Anuradhapura

hospital. This eagle which was of a height of about two and a half feet was a well-built bird spanning around five feet when expanding its winds had come to the village of Sucharitha in Anuradhapura day-before-yesterday. The bird which had rested on a high rock in the village had approached close to the houses when the villagers had been confused.

Mrs. Ashoka Malani (60) who expressed her ideas had this to say: "chandani nangi who lives close to our house had been in front of the house with her children aged around one year and then this eagle had flown near them and tried to grab one child. At that moment Chandani had taken the child with her and and rushed into a room in the house. Then the eagle had grabbed a doll lying closeby and flown to a tree nearby. Later this morning this eagle had pursued a child going towards school and a woman in the village having noticed this sight had attacked it with her ekel-broom. The eagle which managed to escape assault from the ekel-broom had gone and perched on a roof. Amaya who was around the place had then tried to take the child away. It was with great difficulty that we rescued the child.

Two or three young men in our village got together and tried to catch the bird. They were however not able to catch the eagle even after an effort of close upon one hour. After that a piece of meat was brought from a boutique and was lured to feed on it and then only it was caught after a cloth was thrown over its body. After that it was handed over to Wildlife officers.

What security officer Mr. Upali Jayawardena of the Wildlife Department of Anuradhapura office said was that this bird was a 'Bambara Ukussa'. He also said that these eagles were living by hunting animals such as hares and fowls.

(Thalawa  Upul Herath)