Taronga's eagle ready for take off

[depakid]

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/12/16/nonami_wideweb__470x313,0.jpg
Bird keeper Matthew Kettle with Taronga Zoo's new wedge-tailed eagle, Nonami.
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AFTER three months of rehearsing around the back streets of Mosman, Nonami the wedge-tailed eagle is almost ready for stardom.

"Some people still think eagles are a problem," Matthew Kettle, the supervisor of Taronga Zoo's bird show, said yesterday. "We have an opportunity to change their views."

Found orphaned in rural Victoria, the six-year-old is about to become the second wedge-tailed eagle in the zoo's flight show. She was handed over a year ago after her owner decided he could no longer care for her.

"She is a very good flyer, but has no idea about getting her own food," said Mr Kettle, explaining why Nonami could not be rehabilitated for release in the wild.

Three months ago zoo staff started taking her to Mosman ovals for intensive show training, to the delight of local residents.

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He estimated that between the 1940s and 1960s about 2 million wedge-tailed eagles were killed by farmers concerned they were a threat to stock.

But Mr Kettle said they had been wrongly persecuted as research showed that 90 per cent of their diet was rabbit, suggesting they were more of a help than a nuisance for farmers.

More: http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/conservation/eagle-ready-for-take-off/2008/12/16/1229189623590.html