The Hillcrest community has expressed outrage after a well-known female African Crowned Eagle was shot dead.
The eagle, a large bird of prey native to sub-Saharan Africa, was found in the vicinity of Northland Road, near Springside and Cliff roads.
The Hillcrest Conservancy said the bird lived at the Springside Nature Reserve for many years.
"Although she fought for her life, the damage was too great and [she] died. She and her partner have raised many offspring over the years and were getting ready to lay a new egg," the conservancy said in a post on social media.
The conservancy added that it is dangerous and illegal to fire a weapon in a built up area.
"It is illegal and unacceptable to kill African Crowned Eagles in South Africa both because they are protected but also because of their rarity," the conservation added.
It said the penalty for such an act is imprisonment up to 10 years and/or a fine.
"This senseless and aggressive murder of the mother eagle is condemned and mourned by the whole community," the conservancy said.
In 2020, The Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife (Crow) launched an investigation a juvenile Crowned Eagle eagle was rescued by its volunteers from the roof of a home in Hillside Avenue. The birtd had been three times with a pellet gun in Malvern.
IOL