\u201cIt\u2019s physically impossible for a wedgetail to pick up and carry away something heavier than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The extraordinary theory has emerged after a year of anguish, exhaustive searches and dead ends since Gus disappeared from Oak Park Station, near Yunta, on September 27, 2025.<\/p>\n
Sunday marked one year since the little boy was last seen playing outside the homestead before seemingly vanishing into thin air.<\/p>\n
Despite 11 ground searches and extensive aerial searches covering more than 700sq km, no trace of Gus has been found.<\/p>\n
The absence of answers has left Gus\u2019s family searching for explanations, including possibilities they admit are remote.<\/p>\n
His grandmother Josie Murray last week raised the prospect that a wedge-tailed eagle could somehow have played a role.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe eagle aspect should be looked at,\u201d Ms Murray told 7NEWS.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, that is certainly, it\u2019s highly unlikely, but it\u2019s not impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
She plans to search eagle nests around the sprawling station in the hope of finding any evidence related to Gus.<\/p>\n
Dr Cherriman, who has studied wedge-tailed eagles for more than two decades and completed a PhD examining their ecology and movements, said the proposition came down to two questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne, what\u2019s the likelihood a wedge-tailed eagle would attack a person? And there are cases of that happening but it\u2019s very, very rare,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The second \u2014 whether an eagle could carry a child away \u2014 comes down to physics.<\/p>\n
![\"Wedge-tailed](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9684d17d4d6abb119cabdc62ef2c371de3165d47.jpg\")
Wedge-tailed eagle specialist and environmental biologist Dr Simon Cherriman has spent years studying the ecology and behaviour of Australia\u2019s largest bird of prey. Credit: Simon Cherriman<\/p>\n
Dr Cherriman said a wedge-tailed eagle could carry a maximum load of about 5kg, meaning an infant could theoretically be vulnerable in extraordinary circumstances but Gus would have been far too heavy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the child\u2019s not been picked up and carried away, have they been physically attacked,\u201d Dr Cherriman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat could theoretically be possible because we know wedge-tailed eagles tandem hunt and they also hunt in groups.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany younger birds congregate together to take down larger prey, including kangaroos that are 10, 15, 20 kilos.\u201d<\/p>\n
But larger prey is not carried away.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe animal is chased and chased and harried until it\u2019s exhausted, eventually killed, and then it\u2019s eaten in situ,\u201d Dr Cherriman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, if there has been a thorough search (of Oak Park Station), there would be traces of clothing or something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Cherriman stressed an attack on a human would be exceptionally unusual.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say it would be so unlikely because there\u2019s been no cases of it before and eagles are very shy of humans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re very wary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Cherriman said there were reports of wedge-tailed eagles taking dogs and other domestic animals, but approaching a child would require \u201cvery unusual circumstances\u201d.<\/p>\n
Yet searching the nests could still turn up clues.<\/p>\n
Dr Cherriman said wedge-tailed eagles are scavengers as well as hunters, and it was possible something taken to a nest could still be there a year later.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could be. It depends on what he was wearing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou might find evidence of scavenging. It doesn\u2019t prove that a bird flew down and killed him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn terms of a process of elimination, investigating things, it could be an avenue to pursue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Cherriman said eagle nests in the arid zone could be located from the air and then inspected on foot, as he had done during research into the birds\u2019 diets.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ae7940906665ff20c5eddb2836b66545bdaea0b0.jpg\")
A wedgetail eagle’s nest. Credit: Simon Cherriman<\/p>\n
Another expert, who spoke to The Nightly on background, also considered it unlikely an eagle was involved in Gus\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I understand it, eagles have been recorded carrying prey of up to 5kg in flight, but heavier prey would be attacked and dragged on the ground rather than moved long distances,\u201d the expert said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s horrible to talk about it in this way but I think such an attack would have left evidence relatively close by.\u201d<\/p>\n
South Australia Police declined to answer The Nightly\u2019s specific questions about whether Task Force Horizon had investigated the eagle theory, sought expert advice or searched nests around Oak Park Station.<\/p>\n
\u201cSAPOL will not be commenting further on the matter at this stage,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
Task Force Horizon boss Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke was last week asked about Gus\u2019s grandmother\u2019s recent public comments and theories.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have no investigative value,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can discount all of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve all been looked at.\u201d<\/p>\n
SAPOL did not specifically confirm whether Det-Supt Fielke\u2019s comments included the eagle theory.<\/p>\n
Police maintain it is unlikely Gus wandered away or was abducted by an unknown person, with Task Force Horizon instead focused on the possibility someone known to him was involved in his disappearance and suspected death.<\/p>\n
Last week, the State Government announced a record $1 million reward for information leading to the conviction of the person or people responsible for Gus\u2019s disappearance and\/or the recovery of his remains.<\/p>\n
![\"Gus](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/6af809db51ef57015465275ddb86ff8d55f100df.jpg\")
Gus Lamont\u2019 parents Jessica Murray and Joshua Lamont. Credit: Dean Martin Newswire\/NCA NewsWire<\/p>\n
The announcement was accompanied by an emotional video appeal from Gus\u2019s intensely private parents, Jessica Murray and Joshua Lamont, who pleaded for anyone with information to come forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe miss Gus more than we can describe,\u201d Mr Lamont said through tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are desperate to have him return home to us and we are desperate for answers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that someone knows something. Someone knows what happened to Gus and may even know where he is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Cherriman said police had not approached him about the case but he would be prepared to assist investigators.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously (it is) very hard when there\u2019s no evidence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut in my experience in reading forensics cases, it\u2019s usually a person that\u2019s involved somewhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnimals can be a convenient scapegoat, but it\u2019s not to say it doesn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about the evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Information can be provided anonymously.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The family of missing boy Gus Lamont plans to scour wedge-tailed eagle nests for any trace of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":908484,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,1124,338],"class_list":["post-908483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-science","tag-south-australia","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=908483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/908484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=908483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=908483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=908483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}