Victor: Bird's eye view of Alps raises climate change awareness

Victor, a nine-year-old white-tailed eagle, set off this week on a mission to raise awareness of climate change in the Alps, which have already been hard hit by the rise in global temperatures.

Mapping Alps

Victor, a nine-year-old white-tailed eagle equipped with a 360 camera, flies over glaciers and mountains in Chamonix, France, during a preparation flight of the Alpine Eagle Race, an event aiming at raising awareness on global warming.

(Photograph:Reuters)

Five countries in five days

Equipped with a 360-degree camera mounted on his back, Victor soared above Mont Blanc and is set to take in five countries in five days, filming some of the world's most spectacular scenery.

(Photograph:Reuters)

Before taking flight

Falconer Eva Meyrier holds Victor before a flight over glaciers and mountains from the Plan de l’Aiguille back to Chamonix.

(Photograph:Reuters)

Europe's biggest eagle

White-tailed eagles are Europe's biggest eagle. While they are ranked as "least concern" on a list of endangered species drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, they are now sparse in western Europe.

(Photograph:Reuters)

Collaboration between eagle, photographer, scientist

Falconers Eva Meyrier and Jacques Olivier Travers prepare Victor during a media preview of the Alpine Eagle Race, an event aiming at raising awareness to global warming through the collaborative eyes of the eagle, a photographer and a scientist, in Chamonix.

(Photograph:Reuters)

Dependent on water

Dependent for their survival on water resources, which glaciers provide, the eagles disappeared from France altogether 200 years ago and only a few remain on the Swiss side of the border.

(Photograph:Reuters)