A young hen harrier fitted with a satellite transmitter has been declared missing after disappearing in an area described as a “black hole”.
The female named Skylar was being monitored by nature conservation charity RSPB Scotland as part of the EU-funded Hen Harrier LIFE project.
She disappeared on February 7 after roosting overnight in an area of rough grassland a few miles south of the Lanarkshire village of Elvanfoot.
The charity is now appealing for information about Skylar though there are fears they will not find out what happened to the creature.
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Project manager Dr Cathleen Thomas said: “Her tag was working as expected, then suddenly stopped. There have been no further transmissions, and the bird’s body has not been located.
“Had she died of natural causes, we would have expected the transmitter to continue working, allowing us to recover her body. Sadly, we’ll probably never know exactly what has happened to Skylar.”
Thomas said the disappearance “follows a depressingly familiar pattern”, with the area having a history of similar cases and illegal bird of prey killings.
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A hen harrier and short-eared owl were shot dead on a grouse moor in 2017 a few miles away from Skylar’s last known location.
Ian Thomson, RSPB Scotland’s head of investigations, said: “This area has been notorious for some years as a black hole into which protected birds of prey simply disappear.
“Skylar’s disappearance comes at a time when the Scottish Government has commissioned an independent inquiry into grouse shooting, including looking at options for greater regulation.
“A step change is urgently required, as current laws and enforcement measures are proving inadequate to deal with such systematic criminality.”
