Population survey of wintering Steppe (Aquila nipalensis) and Imperial Eagles (Aquila heliaca) around slaughterhouse and landfill site of Yasouj city from fall 2014 to winter 2017

Slaughterhouse and garbage site of Yasouj city are adjacent to each other, located at 12 km south of the city. From early November 2014 to late March 2017, we studied and counted eagles in this area. Our survey showed that from fall 2014 to spring 2015, 120-130 eagles and during fall 2016 to spring 2017, about 115-125 eagles were present at slaughterhouse and garbage site of Yasouj. Some 84 Steppe Eagles and six Imperial Eagles were counted from fall 2014 to spring 2015, and 79 Steppe Eagles and 10 Imperial Eagles from fall 2016 to spring 2017. From fall 2014 to spring 2015, 19.05% of Steppe Eagles were adult, 33.3% were 4-5 year-olds, and 47.6% were 2-3 year-olds, and 83.3% of Imperial Eagles were immature. From fall 2016 to spring 2017, 21.5% of Steppe Eagles were adult, 36.7% were 4-5 year-olds, and 41.8% were 2-3 year-olds. Regarding the Imperial Eagle, from fall 2016 to spring 2017, the number of adults was very low (20% of the total population of Imperial Eagles) but the majority of the individuals were immature and subadult. Also, during the two-year study, only 20.3% of Steppe Eagles were adult while the remainder were immature and subadult. About the Imperial Eagles, only 18.4% of the individuals were adult. The peak of eagles presence was January and February in this area. Low global population of the Imperial Eagle was also confirmed in the current study, with very low population counted compared to Steppe Eagle.