This is one of the main causes of unnatural mortality for the Iberian Imperial Eagle, and many other large and medium-sized birds.
Electrocution happens when the birds make a connection between an electric line and a perch (pole) or between two electric lines that allow the passage of electric charge through the bird, electrocuting it. In most cases individuals die, and very few survive. Of those that survive, very few can be returned to the wild since the lesions caused by the electrocution are usually serious and irreversible, often leading to member amputation. The risk to the Iberian Imperial Eagle is high due to its large wingspan and regular use of dangerous electric line poles as perches.
This threat can be minimized through the isolation of cables close to the poles and other dangerous structures such as disconnectors or the modification/replacement of these structures for safer ones.
Despite the reduced number of Iberian Imperial Eagles in Portugal, there were 13 confirmed cases of electrocution between 2003 and 2015, making evident the high impact of this threat on the species. These data only take into account the known and confirmed cases of electrocution, and it is possible that many others were not detected, and this threat may therefore have an even higher impact.
