Wales’s last golden eagle has been found dead. It is believed that she was 15 or 16 years old. The cause of death is being investigated but it appears to be natural. She was found by a walker after she had spent 12 years flying over the valleys of the Cambrian Mountains of Wales living mainly off carcasses and rabbits.
The BBC Springwatch presenter, Iolo Williams said that the country is much poorer without her. He considers her a great character and is saddened that she has gone. She was referred to as the Tregaron Golden Eagle. Williams said that she was a link with Wales’s past. The people of the valley over which she flew enjoyed her company. She became quite an attraction
She had become quite a character, quite an attraction down there. And with her passing, Wales is much poorer, it really is. It just won’t be the same walking the Cambrian Mountains knowing that there is no chance of catching a glimpse of this amazing bird. Such a shame, such sadness.
This celebrated golden eagle was originally a captive bird but was freed. The golden eagle is native to North America and much of Europe but was extinct in Wales for 170 years. They were made extinct by human persecution. The last breeding pair lived in Snowdonia in the 1850s.
This eagle had a dedicated Facebook fan page which recorded sightings of her. She would be unseen for months at a time. She was found dead in a valley in Abergwesyn, Powys. Her body was collected by a television crew member and her death has been registered in the wildlife incident investigation scheme which is run by the Welsh government. The crew of the team making the BBC series said they were shocked and saddened. The company making the series is Aden Productions.
They hope that the last episode of Iolo: the Last Wilderness of Wales is a fitting tribute to her.
