Bald Eagle

The population of the Bald Eagle was numerous before the first European settlers sailed to the New World. Historically, Bald Eagles inhabited a vast area from Labrador to south Florida and from California to Alaska. Every large river and lake was a home of several hundred Bald Eagles. The population of these large birds declined, as the human population grew.

There are several causes for the Bald Eagle population decline, but the main cause has always been human encroachment. People hunted and fished over a broad area, thus depriving all carnivores of their common prey. Humans and Bald Eagles competed for the same food, and humans had the great advantage with their guns. When the people moved westward, they destroyed the habitat of Bald Eagles. Over 100,000 Bald Eagles were killed in Alaska in the early 20th century. Fishermen considered them to be a threat to the salmon population.

Up to the 1930s people were unaware of the problem. They kept on killing Bald Eagles for their talons and feathers and thought of the Bald Eagle as a fierce and dangerous bird. The Bald Eagle Act of 1940 was passed right in time to save the species. Protected by the law, the population of Bald Eagle began to recover. Soon, Bald Eagles had to face another peril that took lots of their lives. People started to use DDT and other pesticides in agriculture. Chemicals sprayed on plants were eaten by small animals which were consumed by Bald Eagles and other carnivorous birds and animals. The DDT poison is especially harmful for birds of prey. It makes the eggshells too thin to withstand the incubation period. Thousands of crushed eggs and dead adult Bald Eagles contaminated by DDT and pesticides were found in agricultural areas.

In the 1960s and 1970s, DDT and some other pesticides were banned and the Bald Eagle was placed on the lists of endangered species in many states. Conservation of these birds of prey became a national issue. The species has been listed as endangered until 1995, when its status was upgraded to threatened. The Bald Eagle is one of the few species that came back from the endangered species list.