This specimen is the emblem bird of the institution, it is in the same way the largest of the eagles of the continent and the most powerful in the world. For this reason, work has been carried out to lead its reproduction and thus to preserve it.
In the National Aviary, 50 minutes of the center of Cartagena de Indias, on the island of Baru, there are 170 specimens of birds and about 1,700 birds. Among them the harpy eagle stands out.
This imposing bird is under special conditions which were adapted to its needs. It is an agile hunter with its claws, which can measure more than 10 cm long; it has legs equal in thickness to the wrist of an human adult, the length of its wings is approximately two meters in wingspan, its body can reach more than one meter in length and weighs about 10 kilos.
This exotic specimen is the emblem bird of the Colombian Air Force. Even the pixelated uniform used by the more than 12 thousand men and women who make it up, bears its name.
Since it is considered as an inspiring symbol for the institution, the Colombian air force (FAC) has made several efforts in different regions of the country, tending to its protection as well as transfers when they have been injured or beaten, support to institutions that advocate for their conservation and negotiations with organizations for their reproduction; these are just some of the operations FAC has carried out.
For this reason, the Military Forces, through the N.3 Air Combat Command, in Malambo, Atlántico, after technical visits and thematic committees, decided to accompany the logistical, organizational and support tasks so that the bird can reproduce.
One of the biggest difficulties of the Harpy is precisely its reproductive behavior since they only do it after reaching the age of five and, once they establish their mate, they will usually stay with it for the rest of their life, which can be up to 35 years. But there have been episodes where they do not accept a male so it is difficult to increase their numbers.
This is how coordination has been carried out with national and international environmental authorities and organizations, in order to bring a male to the aviary to help reproduce the specimen. In the last one, and for two years the attempt was made with one that is in the Barranquilla Zoo, but unfortunately there was no empathy between them.
Currently the Military Forces have conducted efforts which they hope will soon give positive results that will increase the numbers of this eagle and thus contribute to the specimen and as a contribution to the biodiversity of the ecosystem in Colombia and Latin America, which is where the emblem bird of the Colombian Air Force can be mainly found.
Source: Press - Colombian Air Force
