Rewilding
Woes
WEST
SCOTLAND’S GLACIAL LANDSCAPE stretches out as
far as the eye can see. Traveling further north,
crossing glens and sea lochs, the balmy air
hangs heavy with the distant cry of gulls and
the smell of salt. As we stop to unpack our
lunch, a large shadow passes over a U-shaped
valley, its enormous wingspan carrying it
towards the Isle of Mull. This formidable shadow
is the white-tailed eagle, commonly known as the
sea eagle, the United Kingdom’s largest raptor.
These days, they have become a symbolic icon,
representing the fears, frustrations and
devotion of many who live here.
For
some, the presence of this bird is a
conservation success. For others, it embodies a
lack of external support and isolation from the
capital. This mixed reaction is a byproduct of
differing connections to the land that have
shaped the Highlands for generations and how its
stakeholders choose to defend it.
Nearly
50 years after their reintroduction to Scotland,
white-tailed eagles have continually sparked
complex discussions on the interplay between
human activity and wildlife restoration.
Researcher and
photojournalist Mirali Shukla talks with
conservationists and farmers about the return of
these once-endangered eagles to the Scottish
skies and finds they have more common ground
than widely
thought. | 
