Wedge-tailed Eagles are our largest bird of prey and occur all over Australia and Tasmania. In past years they were persecuted by landowners because of the perception that they preyed upon young lambs, but they are now protected in all states. In a bid to maximise numbers some merino sheep farmers used to select for ewes that produced twins, but merino ewes do not look after twins very well and may even walk away and leave the second one, making it prone to predation to foxes, eagles and exposure.