Missing golden eagle was shot, police believe

A golden eagle that mysteriously vanished in the Borders during the autumn is now believed to have been shot.

Police investigating the disappearance of the missing bird, named Merrick, are confident she died due to "human interference".

The bird was satellite-tagged, having come to the area in 2022 through the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project.

The investigation found blood and feathers at the spot where she was last tracked on 12 October, west of Fountainhall between Heriot and Stow.

Police Scotland have worked with land managers, raptor workers and the public as part of an investigation.

Officers are confident from "the nature and pattern of feathers and blood, and all other evidence, indicated that Merrick was shot and killed".

Dr Cat Barlow said: “Police Scotland believe she was shot then fell to the ground, where she bled considerably through a single wound.

"Police Scotland believe that someone then removed her body and destroyed her satellite tag.”

Until her disappearance, Merrick’s state-of-the-art satellite tag had been transmitting normally.

During the eight days before her disappearance, she was exploring the Moorfoot Hills. Then her tag suddenly stopped transmitting, indicating “no malfunction”, and strongly suggesting human interference.

Eagle Officer, John Wright, inspected the bird's last known roosting spot and noticed a small golden oval-shaped head feather, two small wing covert feathers and some white under-down on the moss directly below the tree.

He said: "I saw a film of blood stretched across the grass stems. It subsequently turned out that a considerable amount of blood was present in and below the moss layer.

"I could see small downy feathers scattered in the dense spruce foliage below the roosting branches.

“Merrick had been roosting (sleeping perched) in a tree when her tag stopped transmitting. Golden eagles, as apex predator, have very few natural predators."

The bird had been part of an ongoing major conservation project in the south of Scotland to boost golden eagle numbers.

Last year it was reported that the population had reached record levels.

Dee Ward, chairman of Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) and estate owner, donated Merrick to the project, and has "condemned raptor persecution in the strongest possible terms".

He said: "This incident makes us all the more passionate about continuing that support and we will do all we can to prevent, detect and condemn anyone who thinks this kind of abhorrent behaviour is acceptable."

The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) have issued a statement saying they "share the project’s anger at this awful news".

It added: "The SGA and its membership have been active partners in the success of this project to date, supplying donor eaglets and helping with provision of food for the young birds.

“We will continue to do so, to help bring about the recovery of the species in the South of Scotland.”

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