Due to the small size of the Iberian Imperial Eagle population in Portugal, any threats can have a serious impact on the population and limit its demographic expansion. The LIFE Imperial Project intends to reduce the main threats affecting the reestablishment of breeding pairs in our country.
The major threats to the species are electrocution at power lines, illegal poisoning, shooting, loss and degradation of habitat, lack of trophic resources, namely the decline of the populations of European Rabbit, and disturbance of breeding areas.
The disappearance and replacement of breeding individuals is frequent in Portugal, and happens due to unnatural deaths caused by these threats. Besides the direct impact on the population caused by the death of breeding individuals, the replacement of adults with immature birds may limit the reproductive ability of couples.
