'Lazy' eagle flies off from Newent birds of prey centre

The Bateleur eagle was last seen sitting in a tree on Saturday evening

A rare eagle has flown off from a birds of prey centre after it was attacked by buzzards.

Staff at The International Centre for Birds of Prey in Newent, Gloucestershire, said the female Bateleur eagle was last seen sitting in a tree on Saturday evening.

Owner Jemima Parry-Jones said she was "the laziest eagle I have ever met".

She has appealed for the public to report any sightings of the bird in an attempt to recapture her.

Ms Parry-Jones said the eagle was doing a demonstration flight on Saturday when she flew off and sat in a tree.

Owner Jemima Parry-Jones said the bird was the "laziest eagle I have ever met"

"Some time in the late afternoon she flew over to a hill opposite, and because she was in the open she got beaten up by the local buzzards," she said.

"We think they probably knocked her radio transmitter off because we found it at the top of the hill."

She said the bird was last seen sitting in another tree nearby on Saturday evening, but has not been spotted since.

"She is quite fat so I'm not worried she's going to drop dead of starvation any minute, in fact it wouldn't be a bad thing if she did lose a bit of weight. She is the laziest eagle I have ever met.

"But we obviously want her back."

Ms Parry-Jones said Bateleur eagles were native to Africa, and there were about 20 in captivity in the UK.