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| The eagle has landed |
 It may be a gruesome blood sport, definitely not for the fainthearted, but when I saw master falconer Hank Chalmers caljoling a huge Wahlberg's eagle to show affection, I could understand why my nine-year-old son came home one day and announced: "Mom, I'm going to have an eagle as a pet".
There's something about birds of prey that quickens the heart, triggering an adrenalin rush of excitement in your blood. But, stresses Hank, to become a legal falconer takes years of practice. One needs to do a two-year apprenticeship before even getting your first bird, usually an African goshawk.
Hank and his wife, Tracy, will be opening the first birds of prey centre in the Western Cape at Spier outside Stellenbosch, the Cape Raptor World Education and Rehabilitation Centre. They want to educate farmers on the use of poisons and childeren on the beauty of nature and preservation of the environment.
About two months ago, the Stellenbosch falconer Thys Walters demonstrated in a television documentary on 50/50 how an owl died slowly and cruelly after eating a poisoned rat. This is what Hank wants to bring to the attention of the Western Cape farmers. "If you use poison to kill rats, you are in effect killing birds of prey." Nearly every week Hank receives a poisoned bird of prey. Some he can rehabilitate, some he can't.
Hank, who was "born into falconry", began rearing black eagles when he was seven. His father, Bill Chalmers, who started the organization Raptor in Natal, taught him how to handle and appreciate birds of prey.
Hank sold his businesses in Durban, moved down to the Western Cape and started this centre. "What I always did as a hobby has become my job and my family's way of life".
Wally, the Wahlberg's eagle, had to stay in their kitchen when they moved down here at the beginning of the year. Tracy laughingly remembers: "We had nine birds of prey in and around the house, a three-year-old, and I was pregnant. It was hectic. Wally saw me as her parent, as I was feeding her. Under normal circumstances, when the branching chicks are hungry, tey chase the parents to fetch them food. So, when Hank started training Wally to respond to eating on the fist, I had to feed her a little less and she would harass me for food!"
It is a miracle that Wally is alive today. Some children took her from her nest to keep her as a pet, but didn't know how to feed her. When Hank and Tracy received the three-week-old Wally she was all but dead.
Birds of prey are specialised birds to keep, Hank stresses. They need to be fed correctly (he will breed disease-free quail on the grounds), they need to be exercised, looked after properly (enough water, no direct sunlight) and taught to hunt. It is a lot of hard work, but Hank hopes to link up with the university so that students can help in return for gaining valuable experience.
He also plans to start a clinic at the Cape Raptor World with eventually an inhouse veterinarian. The centre, which is currenlty being build next to the cheetah enclosure at Spier, depends on donations. For furher information on the raptor centre, phone Tracy or Hank on +27 (0)21 858-1826 or write to them at eagles@telkomsa.net
Article written by Terry de Vries
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Copyright 2008 © ~ Eagle Encounters.