page_title: Martial eagle
section_title: Reptiles
hierarchical_section_title: Martial eagle / Dietary biology / Reptiles
caption_attribution_description: S28 Road South of Lower Sabie, Kruger NP, SOUTH AFRICA
context_page_description: The martial eagle is a large eagle native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the only member of the genus Polemaetus. A species of the booted eagle subfamily, it has feathering over its tarsus. One of the largest and most powerful species of booted eagle, it is a fairly opportunistic predator that varies its prey selection between mammals, birds and reptiles. Its hunting technique is unique as it is one of few eagle species known to hunt primarily from a high soar, by stooping on its quarry. An inhabitant of wooded belts of otherwise open savanna, this species has shown a precipitous decline in the last few centuries due to a variety of factors. The martial eagle is one of the most persecuted bird species in the world. Due to its habit of taking livestock and regionally valuable game, local farmers and game wardens frequently seek to eliminate martial eagles, although the effect of eagles on this prey is almost certainly considerably exaggerated. Currently, the martial eagle is classified with the status of Vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN.
context_section_description: Reptiles can be locally important in the diet, and they are known to take larger numbers of reptiles than other large African booted eagles. Only relatively large reptiles, it seems, are attacked and many of this prey is also potentially dangerous, so a great majority of the time such prey is taken in ambushes. In particular, in the former Transvaal province of northeastern South Africa,  reptiles were the main prey, with monitor lizards alone comprising just under half of the prey remains. The monitors attacked may include the 6.1 kg (13 lb) rock monitor (Varanus albigularis), the 5.25 kg (11.6 lb) nile monitor (Varanus niloticus) and the 1.02 kg (2.2 lb) savannah monitor (Varanus exanthematicus). These monitors, the largest lizards in Africa, are formidable prey and almost all attacks are ambushes on adult monitors by mature female eagles. Sometimes a lengthy struggle will ensue as the eagles try to get a good grip into the tough back skin of the monitors while simultaneously trying to control their necks to avoid the prey's powerful jaws, however the eagles are usually successful in dispatching the large lizards. Reptiles as a whole made up 38% of the prey remains from Kruger National Park. These consisted of monitor lizards as well as wide range of venomous snakes, including Cape cobras (Naja nivea), boomslangs (Dispholidus typus), puff adders (Bitis arietans), the eastern (Dendroaspis angusticeps) and western green mambas (Dendroaspis viridis), and even black mambas (Dendroaspis polylepis), these species ranging in size from the 0.3 kg (11 oz) boomslang to the 1.6 kg (3.5 lb) black mamba. Also taken here were the non-venomous but already sizeable youngsters of the African rock python (Python sebae), the largest African snake. Elsewhere, snouted cobras (Naja annulifera) may added to the list of their prey spectrum. A surprising number of tortoises and turtles are also taken by martial eagles, ranging from one of the smallest tortoises, the 0.23 kg (0.51 lb) greater padloper (Homopus femoralis) to the one of the largest, the 10.8 kg (24 lb) leopard tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis) (though probably only small specimens of the latter species are taken of this, the second largest tortoise on mainland Africa). In one case, an estimated 90 cm (2 ft 11 in) nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) was captured and flown with by a martial eagle.
caption: Large monitors, such as this prey, a rock monitor, can be important prey for adult female martial eagles.
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