Scientists use DNA to count Kazakhstan's Eagles

    Purdue University says scientists who used DNA from eagle feathers to count the raptors have found that traditional visual methods of counting animal populations can lead to mistakes.
    After collecting thousands of feathers from roosts and nesting sites, scientists from Purdue, the San Diego Zoo and the University of West Virginia used the DNA to identify 414 imperial eagles in the Narzum National Nature Reserve of Kazakhstan. Purdue says that is more than three times as many as had been observed.
    Purdue geneticist Andrew DeWoody says observers can't always differentiate individual animals.
    The scientists say accurate animal counts are vital because if numbers are underestimated, it could lead decision makers to conclude that a habitat is less important than it really is, according to the Republic.