How Long Do Eagles Live (And Why)?

Exact Answer: Up to 20 Years

Eagle is a general name that is used to identify the Accipitridae family species. About 60% of the eagle species are found in Eurasia and Africa. Eagles are considered as most powerful, dangerous species of birds along with their large beaks and strong heads. The eagles are divided into four separate divisions.

Fish Eagles, Booted Eagles, Snake Eagles, and Harpy Eagles. Eagles don’t have any natural predators. They are the top predators and attack each other for food. Around 70- 80% of the eagles don’t makeup up their adolescent phase. They have 10- 15 years of life span.

How Long Do Eagles Live?

Most of the eagles fail to reach their adult phase due to starvation and survival challenges. Out of those who succeeded in survival get mature after 5 years. It is observed that on average eagles live for 15 to 25 years.

Eagles who live in their familiar surroundings may live up to 30-50 years. They lived for a long time. The life cycle of the eagles is different as compared to other species of birds.

Most of the eagles face so many threats and accidents to get mature. One of the eagles lived up to 47 years by living in its captivity. Eagles could live for a longer time duration if they lived in their wild surroundings.

Eagles have much better eyesight than humans. They are five times better than humans. They can see the prey from two miles away. Eagles are like to live near water.

Bald eagles build huge nests and they continue to use them for years. Usually, the eagle couple starts making their nest out of large sticks before they do mating.

They eat fish, rats, raccoons, carrion, etc. They are experts in taking and grasping the food. Here are the two different species of eagles along with their lifespan.

Why Do Eagles Live So Long?

Eagles build their nests on top of the tall trees, at high cliffs and high peaks. A female eagle lays two eggs in the nest and incubates them for the next 40 days. During the incubation time, climate plays a vital role it.

Sometimes incubation takes more than 40 days and vice versa. It has been found that the male eagles also incubate eggs. The newly hatched eagle from the egg is dependent upon its mother for food.

It takes them 10 to 12 weeks to have enough feathers to fly. Initially, after every hunting, they return to their nests and stay around their parents. It requires 120 days for an eagle to become entirely independent.

During the young phase, the eaglets find it very troublesome to survive especially in the first winter. Around 60- 70% failed to survive in the initial winter season. After four and five years, they accomplished sexual maturity.

After five years, golden feathers have appeared on their necks and heads. The Golden Eagles are commonly found in North America, Europe, North Africa, Asia. They are one of the highest bird varieties in North America.

They have the potential to live up to 32 years in the wildlife surroundings. To feed their babies they primarily attack small mammals.

The bald eagle is an important part of the environment. They eat dead animals and help nature in the cleaning process. They are also known as hunters. They killed weak and old animals to clean the environment for making the environment more healthy.

Conclusion

Eagles are at the top of the food chain process. They help nature by cleaning all the old and dead animals by killing them for their food source. They have the longest life span. But it is very challenging for them to live for so long.

They face so many threats throughout their life span. Some eagles die due to starving and others due to hit by vehicles. Sometimes they are deliberately poisoned or shot just for fun. If they’re given a wildlife-friendly environment them they can last for up to 50-70 years.

Reference

1. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0093628
2. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11528-016-0066-z