!!! Wallenda Could Be Threat To Peregrines
June 28, 2012 - Niagara Falls
Frank Butson Reports:
From The Welland Tribune:
Dan Dakin, Niagara Falls Review
A harness might save Nik Wallenda from plunging into the Niagara river, but it won’t spare him from over-protective peregrine falcons.
Wallenda, the seventh-generation aerialist who will walk across Niagara Falls on a five-centimetre-wide wire on June 15, has been warned by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources that he’ll be in the danger zones for a family of peregrines nesting near the falls.
“It’s highly possible he’ll be perceived as a threat,” said Anne Yagi, a management biologist with the Ministry of Natural Resources. “They’ll defend their territory vigorously.”
A pair of peregrine falcons and between three and five babies are nesting in a window of the long-closed Ontario Power Generation station in the Niagara gorge, just north of the base of the Horseshoe Falls.
In Canada, peregrines aren’t considered endangered, but are classified as threatened on the ministry’s Species at Risk list. Like most of the peregrines around Ontario, the family nesting in the gorge is closely monitored by the ministry, as well as by the Canadian Peregrine Foundation.
Shortly after Wallenda was given the green light to complete the walk between Table Rock in Canada and Terrapin Point in the U.S., Yagi, contacted Wallenda to warn him about the dangers of crossing the gorge near the peregrine nest.
“We had asked him to change the date to September when the parents had completed their parental care, but he said no,” she said. “I’m hopeful nothing will happen to him.”
Though attacks on humans are rare, peregrines are incredibly protective of their nests and offspring. The birds typically grow to be more than 40 centimetres long with a wingspan of more than 100 centimetres. They can weigh nearly a kilogram.
What makes them fierce hunters is their speed. Peregrines are the fastest animal in the world reaching speeds of around 320 km/h as they dive toward their prey.
It isn’t just Wallenda Yagi is worried about. She said any crew members within 200 metres of the nest could be considered a threat by the peregrines.
“There should be a concern in terms of the personal safety of (Wallenda), any cameramen and lighting people. Anyone in the territory,” she said.
Yagi is also concerned for the well-being of the falcons. She said there will be repercussions if the peregrines are hurt during the event.
“We’ve issued (Wallenda) a letter of advice and said if the birds are injured through any part of this, he could be charged under the Endangered Species Act,” said Yagi, who has requested security clearance for her and three others to monitor the peregrines during the walk.
For his part, Wallenda said he’s not overly concerned about a potential peregrine attack.
While training at the Seneca Niagara Casino recently, Wallenda confirmed he was contacted by the ministry, but said he’s not worried about them.
Yagi said she talk to Wallenda personally last week and knows he doesn’t to hurt the birds.
“He’s interested in the birds and he doesn’t want to see anything happen to them,” she said.
http://www.wellandtribune.ca/2012/05/28/wallenda-could-be-threat-to-peregrines