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  Back From Extinction: Majestic White-Tailed Eagle Returns to German Skies

Back From Extinction Majestic White-Tailed Eagle Returns to German Skies

By David Crossland

Part 2: Ventures into East Germany and Brushes with the Stasi

Neumann braved East Germany's Stasi intelligence service during his frequent trips across the Iron Curtain to meet environmentalists in the 1970s and 1980s. Equipped with his binoculars, he went on eagle-spotting trips across the border so often that Stasi agents became convinced he was a Western spy.

"I was suspected of spying on military installations," said Neumann, who had official permission to travel 30 kilometers into East Germany, where he often met fellow environmentalists and watched the progress of the 50 or so pairs of white-tailed eagles that had chosen the communist calm of the east.

After the communist regime collapsed, he obtained a copy of the file the Stasi had kept on him. "My Stasi file listed me as a spy," he said, holding a typewritten document which claimed he worked for an "unknown intelligence service."

"What was disgusting was how the border guards examined me right down to the bones whenever I crossed the border," said Neumann. "My friends over there were always so afraid, they kept telling me to hide my car."

But the years spent snooping around lakes and forests behind the Iron Curtain paid off and helped Neumann's team to land its biggest coup after German unification in 1990.

"We were quicker than private investors and managed to snap up land. It was a unique opportunity and we seized it," said Neumann. The WWF bought forests and lakes in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the sparsely populated eastern state that borders the Baltic Sea, and in Brandenburg, the state surrounding Berlin.

"We got €23 million ($32 million), most of it from federal funding but also some private donations, and we bought 5,000 hectares of land," said Neumann. "The regional states provided a further 2,000 hectares. All farming was stopped in those areas."

'Flagship Species'

Neumann's team set up protected areas around eagle nests and installed areas for tourists to watch them from a safe distance. White-tailed eagles prefer quiet lakes were they can hunt for their preferred prey, water birds and fish. They also eat carrion. Almost half of the eagles in Germany now breed in these protected WWF areas.

Neumann said public interest in the eagle indirectly helped the WWF to protect a whole range of less glamorous wildlife.

"It's a flagship species that helped us foster an environment where a whole array of other animals could thrive -- cranes, amphibians, dragonflies, woodpeckers," said Neumann. "The eagle represents an environment where humans feel good too. People are so thrilled when they see an eagle."

Neumann's own admiration for the bird remains undiminished, even after more than four decades of watching and protecting it. "The sea eagle is such a majestic, powerful bird -- he's special in terms of his behavior and appearance."

Eagles Soaring All Over Germany

Despite his success, Neumann's work isn't over. The bird remains under threat from over-eager bird-watchers and poachers, and wind turbines pose a new danger.

"The turbines tend to be built on high ground and eagles can smash into them as they soar up on thermals," said Neumann, adding that he knew of four eagles that had been killed by turbines in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein within one year.

He has also been trying to persuade hunters to use copper shot rather than poisonous lead shot in their guns -- lead shot in deer and wild boar innards left behind by hunters can poison eagles when they eat the remains.

The search for a new generation of eagle protectors is another challenge. "Children aren't taught enough about nature in school," said Neumann, who is having trouble finding enough youngsters to replace his ageing helpers.

He envisages a day when the mighty bird can be seen soaring all over Germany. "There's room for far more eagles in Germany. If we do it right, we could get a big rise in the population in other parts of the country as well."

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