Panni the satellite-tagged Imperial Eagle has visited 12 countries already. She was born in Heves County in 2011 and has become famous after having been robbed from the nest at the age of a few days. She has been wandering around the borderland of Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary since June.

Associates of the Hortobágyi National Park and the Budapest ZOO  released an Imperial Eagle after its recovery. The bird was found near Báránd on June 26^th, workers of the local government spotted her first, acting strange in an alfalfa field. Later turned out that she probably consumed from poisoned bait, which must have been put out intentionally. There was another Imperial Eagle poisoned in the area in 2009, already.

Four young Imperial Eagles got satellite transmitters first within the framework of the new Life+ project launched in January. One of the actions of the project is to mark 30 juveniles in Hungary from 2012 through 2015.

The Magyar Posta exhibits Hungary’s wildlife on series of stamps and stamp blocks every year. This year’s choice is Birds of Prey. The series that accompany the block depicts in their rising conservation value the Imperial Eagle, the White-tailed Eagle, The Red-footed Falcon and the Saker Falcon while the Common Buzzard being the Bird of the Year of 2012 is on the block itself.

More and more birds of prey succumb to poisons. All the cases have occurred within a certain area, thus deliberate cause is highly probable.

A week ago we reported that Panni, the rescued Imperial Eagle had visited 9 countries already. Since then, she flew over another country new for her: Moldova. After leaving it, she turned to the West and entered Romania. She is probably heading to her favourite places, east of the Tisza River.

The European Union launched its LIFE programme, a funding instrument to support environmental policy 20 years ago, in 1992. Due to its co-financed projects the Hungarian populations of the Red-footed Falcon, the Great Bustard and the Saker Falcon have increased; the Hungarian Meadow Viper has escaped extinction, environmentally compatible habitat management of grasslands has been revived as well as the wildlife of the alkaline steppes of the Hortobágy.

Panni has become well-known after being robbed from the nest in Heves County May, 2011. She was sold later on to someone, but now she seems to do fine after having been sorely tried. Recently she has been wandering around the areas preferred by Imperial Eagles.

MME and the Ministry of Rural Development recently announced that both would open an account with the amount of 100,000 forints, respectively. Anyone can receive reward upon providing information about crime committed against protected birds.

Direct persecution of protected and strictly protected species of Birds of Prey was always a problem in Hungary. In the first months of the year, this has reached a level never experienced before. During this period, 72 victims of protected and strictly protected species have turned up already. The combined conservation value of them is more than 20 million forints, but the real number is most likely multiple of this.