Curiosity killed the bird: arbitrary hunting of Harpy Eagles Harpia harpyja on an agricultural frontier in southern Brazilian Amazonia

in southern Brazilian Amazonia, severalinterviewees reported Harpy Eaglekills, which arepresented and discussed here. Whilst the extent ofits effects on the local Harpy Eaglepopulation isunclear, such pressure undoubtedly constitutes anadditional, possibly avoidable, impact on arelatively sensitive species.The study was conducted in the municipalitiesof Alta Floresta (09o53’S 56o28’W) and NovaBandeirantes (09o11’S 61o57’W), in northern MatoGrosso, Brazil. Both are typical Amazonianfrontier towns, characterised by immigration fromsouthern and eastern Brazil, and ongoingfragmentation of the original forest cover. Thetown of Alta Floresta was founded in 1976, sincewhen the environs have suffered high deforesta-tion rates. By 2003, for example, only 37% oforiginal forest cover remained in the municipalitysouth of the rio Teles Pires