Eagles Return to Exmoor After 200 Years

Why this is here: The Isle of Mull, a small island in Scotland, sees between £4.9 million and £8 million in annual tourist spending linked to the presence of white-tailed eagles.

Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation plan to release white-tailed eagles in Exmoor National Park, west Somerset and north Devon, after a gap of over 200 years. The last breeding pair in southern England was recorded in 1780. This project builds on a reintroduction program that began on the Isle of Wight in 2019, where 45 young eagles have already been released.

Up to 20 eagles will be released over three years, linking the Isle of Wight population to the Exmoor landscape. Four breeding pairs formed on the Isle of Wight, producing six chicks born in the wild since 2023.

Farmers in Scotland, where eagles were reintroduced in the 1970s, have expressed concerns about predation on lambs, though establishing whether eagles kill lambs or scavenge them proves difficult. Natural England will monitor the new release closely. The work to restore the eagle population continues.