The eagles nest on the ridge at the Walter Sisulu Botanical Garden

RELATED LINKS: Name needed for black eagle chick THE young black eagle that has taken to the wing at the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden needs a name – and the public has been invited to make suggestions. Read more Frogs give new spin to Bird Gardens THERE are more than just birds to be seen at the Montecasino Bird Gardens - try out a few weird tree frogs and a snake or two for size. Read more It's now the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden THE Witwatersrand National Botanical Garden in Roodepoort has been renamed the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden. Read more Black eagle chick hatches THE breeding pair of black eagles at the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden are proud parents of a new chick. Read more Visit the eagles at botanical garden FOUR years ago the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden had a crisis. Its magnificent black eagle male disappeared and it was thought that a 40-year old breeding programme would come to an end. Read more

A black eagle

Black eaglet finally gets a name The black eagle at the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden is six months old already, and it has finally been named after the public were asked for suggestions. November 14, 2007 By Millicent Kgowedi VARIOUS names, some weird and some thoughtful, poured in to Walter Sisulu Botanical Garden after an invitation was extended to the public to suggest a name for its young black eagle. Hundreds of Joburgers answered the call to name the young eaglet, which is now six months old. Suggested names included Maxine, Joy, Lady, Shadow, Ebony, Grace and Blacky. But those that impressed the judges the most were Mali, meaning money or something of value; Lindokuhle, meaning to expect the best; Elijah; Kusasa, meaning tomorrow; Skygle, which is the combination of the words sky and eagle; Pallazo; Hitekani, meaning vigorous; Mfazi, meaning woman; Nelson, Madiba's first name; Aisha, a Swahili name meaning she is life; and Nkosi, meaning king. However, the clear winner was Makhaza, which means the severe cold of winter. The eaglet survived the bitter winter cold, during which the temperature plummeted below zero. Eagles generally prey on dassies, hares and other small animals. Large eagles, such as the martial and bateleur, eat reptiles, guinea fowl, ducks, small antelope and other small mammals. The black eagle pair at the garden, Emoyeni and her mate Dubbed, is one of the main attractions at the garden. The birds have two nests near the top of the 70m high Witpoortjie Waterfall, both of which they use to mate and lay their eggs. They are a part of the garden's history, where they have been since the 1940s. Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden is one of eight botanical gardens in the country run by the South African National Biodiversity Institute. The 300 hectares of landscaped and natural veld areas are planted with indigenous trees and 600 species of indigenous flowering plants and shrubs. There is a variety of species of arachnids, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. More than 230 species of birds have also been spotted in the garden. The Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden is in Malcolm Road, Poortview, Roodepoort. It is 30 kilometres west of Joburg's central business district. It is open daily from 8am to 6pm. Those who want to see the eaglet should visit on Saturdays or Sundays, when an official is on duty. Entrance to the garden is R18 for adults and R7 for learners. Children under six are free. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za