MOOROODUC farmer David Sims believes eagles killed a new-born calf overnight at his Derril Road property, Thursday 17 May.
He said he saw the eagles on the carcase as he drove into the paddock next morning looking for its mother and watched as they flew off into trees when he approached. He said flesh had been torn from the calf’s mouth and ear.
Mr Sims, who runs 30 cattle on his 32 hectare property, said it appeared the calf had been born alive and then been killed because the thin tissue on its feet had worn after it had walked around.
He said its mother would have tried to protect it from danger. He said he had lost calves previously. The eagles stayed near the property most of the morning.
BirdLife Mornington Peninsula president Max Burrows said he thought a calf would be too big for an eagle to tackle. “It is more likely to have been killed by a fox or wild dog,” he said.
Eagles in Victoria are fully protected under the Wildlife Act 1975. Penalties apply.
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 22 May 2018
