To Fly on the Wings of an Eagle

On March 14, 2015, a new world record was set for the highest recorded bird flight from a man-made structure.  The structure:  the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world at 829.8 m (2717 ft) tall.  The location: Dubai, an emirate within the United Arab Emirates.  The reason:  to bring attention to the desperate need to protect the world's species and to the programs of Save our Species (SOS).

Darshan is an Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) and serves as an ambassador for threatened animals with the SOS Freedom Program.  This magnificent raptor species is listed as a Vulnerable Species on the IUCN's Red List, Appendix I of CITES, and Appendices I and II of the CMS.  It is not the first flight he has made with a camera mounted on his back.  In November 2014, to promote the opening of Here Today, an art exhibition supporting the 50th anniversary of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Darshan toured London by air, flying over the Tower Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, and Olympic Park.

The views Darshan captured as he flew in Dubai and London are absolutely amazing.  What really impressed me was that his flight was so incredibly smooth - the camera hardly jiggled.  When he approached his trainer, you can see him fold his wings and dive until close enough to open his wings, slow down, and gently land on his trainer's arm.

SOS is a global partnership launched in October 2014 who's goal is to raise funds to support front-line, threatened-species conservation projects world wide.  The founding partners are the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the World Bank.  Freedom - An Eagle Takes Flight is an international multimedia conservation project of SOS and tells the fictional story of Roi, the last White-Tailed Eagle in the wild, and Kaaba, a White-Tailed Eagle who has spent much of its life in captivity.  It is a fictional story now, but could be a glimpse into our future if we do not act now and forcefully to preserve all of Earth's creatures.  Victor, a White-Tailed Eagle, and also an SOS Ambassador, took flight from the top of the Eiffel Tower September 28, 2014, to publicize the release of Freedom - An Eagle Takes Flight.

You can support SOS and its program by direct donation, joining its community on Facebook and Twitter, subscribing to its newsletter, and buying children's wear from coqenpate editions.