\n The herd\u2019s owner Donald John Cameron believes the huge birds \u2013 also called white-tailed eagles \u2013 are the most likely culprit for the disappearance of the weeks-old foals.\n<\/p>\n
\n If they are it would be the first time foals had been taken by the birds since their reintroduction to Scotland in 1975 after extinction here 60 years earlier.\n<\/p>\n
\n READ MORE:\u00a0<\/strong>Scotch whisky distilleries hit with curbs as water levels ‘critically low’<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cI can\u2019t see any other explanation,\u201d said the crofter from Lochskipport on South Uist.\n<\/p>\n \n Cameron says the birds arrived in South Uist about seven years ago, and he sees them circling his sheep and ponies. The birds can have a wingspan of 8ft.\n<\/p>\n \n He has called for Scottish Government<\/a> wildlife agency NatureScot to investigate the disappearance. In response the agency says it will examine sea eagle nests near Cameron\u2019s home, as part of planned checks to see what the birds are eating, prompted by complaints of them taking lambs.\n<\/p>\n \n The crofter hopes that check will confirm the birds have taken the foals. He has found no trace of the young animals in the area the herd lives, and says the behaviour of the foals\u2019 mothers indicates they have been predated.\n<\/p>\n \n The foals are heavier than lambs, which NatureScot says are sometimes taken by sea eagles. Cameron points to evidence elsewhere of the birds taking deer calves the size of his foals. The missing foals were born to his smaller mares, and are likely to have been smaller. \u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n If NatureScot find evidence the birds were responsible, Cameron would like them moved, or other help to protect his herd.\n<\/p>\n \n The ponies, which roam the moorlands above Cameron\u2019s home, are part of the agritourism business<\/a> he runs with partner Lindsay Robertson.\n<\/p>\n \n He said: \u201cWe advertise pony experiences, and people ask what animals you have, and we tell them ponies and foals… but if the next day we\u2019ve only got ponies, it\u2019s not good for anyone.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n The ponies vanished over a nine-week\u00a0period this year. They are highly unlikely to have been stolen as the only road access is past the Cameron\u2019s isolated house at the end of a single-track road.\n<\/p>\n \n READ MORE:\u00a0<\/strong>Artist shortlist for Nelson Mandela sculpture in Glasgow announced<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \n The Camerons\u2019 daughter Cara, aged four, befriended one of the foals which vanished, leaving the family stunned.\n<\/p>\n