Missing Eagle Found Safe After 13-Day Search

(c) Huxley's Birds of Prey Centre

A Chilean blue eagle that went missing after flying away from a country show in Surrey has been found safe and well after 13 days.

Cillian disappeared from the Cowpie Country Show in Lingfield on 14 June and was discovered on Saturday in a field at a neighbouring farm.

Luke Lloyd, from Huxley's Birds of Prey Centre in Horsham, said he found the eagle perched on a gate inside a barn.

He said:

"As soon as he saw me he came running over and jumped on my glove, had some food and sat there really nicely."

Mr Lloyd said staff were relieved to have found Cillian, explaining that the captive-bred bird would have struggled to survive for long in the wild.

Although the eagle had lost some weight, he had not been injured and did not require veterinary treatment.

Chilean blue eagles, also known as black-chested buzzard-eagles, are native to South America. Cillian has lived at Huxley's Birds of Prey Centre for around three to four years.

Mr Lloyd said the centre's tracking transmitter had failed when Cillian flew off, preventing staff from locating him sooner.

He believes the eagle survived by sheltering from the heat and relying on stored fat reserves, although he had eaten very little during his time away.