Words by

Ingibjörg Rósa Björnsdóttir

Too close interrelation amongst the Icelandic population of the Sea Eagle might be the cause of its reduced fertility.

Icelandic Sea Eagles are much less fertile than other sea eagle populations, with average of 0.44 offsprings per pair, Morgunblaðið reports today.

Other factors might have an affect too, such as bad weather during nesting season and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the eagles’ eggs.

Despite the possibility of too much inbreeding, biologists are reluctant to import eagles from other countries to improve the Icelandic breed, saying the problem isn’t that serious and that the population is in fact slowly increasing.