When the forest falls silent: A double tragedy for Durban’s Crowned Eagles

(by Crowned Eagle Research Project)

Within days, a newly fledged Crowned Eagle from Cowies Hill and then his mother were both found in critical condition and died despite rescue efforts. Their deaths remain under investigation, and the case is a painful reminder of how vulnerable even powerful urban raptors can be in a human-dominated landscape.

credit: Marc Graf and Christine Sonvilla: https://sonvilla-graf.com/projects/crowned-eagles/

👉 Read the full story in The Witness https://witness.co.za/news/2026/03/12/cowies-hill-crowned-eagle-mother-and-chick-die-in-mysterious-double-tragedy/

The Crowned Eagle is one of Durban’s most remarkable urban predators - A powerful forest raptor still breeding in green pockets woven through a growing city. Their presence is a reminder that even large, elusive hunters can persist alongside people. But recent events in Cowies Hill have shown just how fragile that coexistence can be. In early March, a young eagle and then his mother were both lost within days of one another, in what is now a deeply troubling and still unresolved double tragedy. The first bird, CO2 (owing to the ID ring), hatched on 8 October 2025 in Territory "Cowies Hill", Durban West, and was fitted with a GPS tracker as a nestling in December. By mid-February 2026, he was estimated to have fledged. On 28 February, his tracking data raised alarm: the tag suggested he was upside down and had likely been in distress since the previous evening. A search team found him about 30 metres from the nest tree, stuck in undergrowth, weak, dehydrated, and suffering from extensive flystrike. He was taken for veterinary treatment, rehydrated, and later transferred to FreeMe for further care. Despite an initial sign of improvement, CO2 died overnight. That would already have been a hard loss. But while the investigation into CO2’s death was still underway, concern shifted to his mother, CUP. Tracking data showed that after visiting the nest, she remained in one location in the New Germany Nature Reserve for several days. When her tracker later indicated that she, too, was inverted, another urgent search began. She was eventually found in poor condition, and rushed to veterinary care, but did not survive the night. Within days, both mother and son were gone. CO2 and CUP were both part of a long-term effort to understand how Crowned Eagles persist in and around Durban. In death, as in life, they are teaching us something important - about vulnerability, about urban coexistence, and about how much we still need to learn if we are to protect these extraordinary raptors. For now, their story remains unfinished - as we are awaiting the results of a more comprehensive toxicology screening - but the parallel findings from both birds make clear that this was not a simple or ordinary loss.