Credit: Amnéville Zoo
The Amnéville Zoo, located over the border in the Grand Est region of France, reported that on Wednesday 17 September 2025, two of its bird of prey keepers took part in a significant conservation initiative: the release of a young female white-tailed eagle named Amnéville into the wild.
The zoo explained that the eagle, born earlier this year, is part of a breeding programme launched in 2022 in collaboration with the Aigles du Léman breeding centre near Thonon-les-Bains, France. In 2023, two young birds from this pair were successfully reintroduced into nature; they were sponsored by the municipalities of Excenevex and Allinges in Haute-Savoie, which financed their GPS tracking devices. Both birds have since travelled thousands of kilometres across Europe and remain in good health.
In 2025, the pair again produced two chicks, a male and a female. The female was equipped with a tracking device financed by the Amnéville Zoo Conservation Endowment Fund and named Amnéville, while the male was sponsored by Courzieu Park.
The release of Amnéville marks the ninth white-tailed eagle to be returned to the wild this year as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the still fragile population of this species, considered the largest eagle in Europe. The zoo noted that her movements are now being closely monitored thanks to her GPS device and with the support of wildlife photographers. These first months of independence will be decisive for her survival.
Amnéville Zoo added that in total three birds born at the zoo have been released in 2025: the young female white-tailed eagle Amnéville, her brother, and a Ural owl released at the end of August. All contribute to the zoo’s mission of conservation, which it described as one of the fundamental pillars of modern zoological parks.
