A latest report shows eagles have changed their routes across Ukraine to avoid being caught in the middle of crossfire amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, the BBC reported.

The greater spotted eagles, a large, brownish-coloured bird of prey, usually fly through Ukraine every Spring from Greece and Sudan to breeding grounds in Belarus but have been avoiding the routes since the war in Ukraine began.

According to the BBC, researchers from the Estonian University of Life Sciences and the British Trust for Ornithology studied GPS data from tagged birds in the months after the February 2022 invasion.

The report showed the aagles fly around danger, which includes artillery fire, tanks and jets. They also avoided paths occupied by large numbers of military personnel during the period of heavy fighting in northern Ukraine during the Russian siege to take over Kyiv with force, entering the city from Belarus.

Charlie Russell, a postgraduate researcher at the University of East Anglia and the lead author of the research, said, “The war in Ukraine has had a devastating impact on people and the environment. Our findings provide a rare window into how conflicts affect wildlife.”

The greater spotted eagles, which are considered vulnerable species, were placed under GPS surveillance by researchers in 2017 but were not expecting to be tracking the birds through an active conflict zone five years later.