Zoo’s Harpy Eagle to spread its wings in new flight cage
Stabroek News
April 14, 2003
The Guyana Zoological Park, with the aid of Odense Zoo of Denmark, is to construct an aviary, or flight cage, for its Harpy Eagles.
On Friday at a ceremony held at the Zoo in Georgetown, the Chairman of the Odense Zoo and Mayor of Odense, Denmark, Anker Boye, handed over a cheque for US$30,000 for the building of the aviary, which will be located at the back of the zoo, near the old elephant cage. The design of the cage will facilitate trees in the vicinity of the proposed construction area being incorporated into the architecture, allowing for the aviary to carry the dimensions and landscaping features that are as near as possible to the natural habitat of the maje-stic Harpy Eagle. This new facility will have a length of 120 feet and will be 60 feet wide and 50 feet high.
According to zoo officials, construction of the aviary is to begin after a contractor has been nominated. The cage in which the Harpy Eagle is kept does not provide room for it to move in comfort.
Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manzoor Nadir, unveiled the cornerstone and turned the sod for the new aviary.
The Odense Zoo has had an ongoing sister-zoo relationship with the National Parks Commission since an agreement was signed between the two parties in November 2001. The agreement, according to the Commission, was designed to bring benefits to both sides.
The request for such an agreement had been facilitated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Kingdom of Denmark, through the latter’s Embassy in Brazil.
The agreement with Odense also allows for technical cooperation and support for the Guyana Zoo and the University of Guyana (UG). Another feature of the agreement is the proposal for an exchange programme for employees of the National Parks Commission. Talks have also accelerated between the University of Southern Denmark and UG, and an agreement may be imminent for the exchange of students. Odense has pledged to strengthen the sister-zoo relationship, which will involve the exchange of animals and knowledge.
Through this agreement also, four manatees had been airlifted from the Georgetown Zoo to the Odense Zoo to re-energise the captive breeding programme there. Those manatees, the visitors reported, are thriving.
Boye, in his address to the gathering, which included Minister of Foreign Affairs Rudy Insanally, urged that a Guyana delegation visit Denmark to further develop and augment the partnership between the two countries.
The Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) is said to be the largest, most powerful raptor in the world. It weighs 25 lbs and stands over three feet tall. Its talons, or claws, are as thick as a child’s wrist and are used for hunting. This bird of prey has its home in the Pakaraima and Kanuku mountain ranges.
