Bald Eagle
Bald Eagles are the symbol of the freedom of the U.S.A.
They became endangered when settlers in North America blamed them for killing cattle, and began to shoot them. In the early 1900's fisherman and fox farmers said that the eagles were making work hard for them. The territorial legislature agree to have a bounty in 1917. By the time they got rid of the bounty in 1953, over 128,000 of these birds had been killed. In 1973, the Endangered Species Act was passed, but in Alaska and Canada the bald eagle population was stable, so the act did not cover them. Today approx. 100,000 eagles live in those places.
But, even though the Bald Eagle Protection Act protected them from hunters, the pesticides began to kill their eggs. By the 1960s, only about 400 breeding pairs existed.
Now, the bald eagle population is on the rise!! Over 6,000 breeding pairs are living, and this species may be taken off the list soon in the lower 48 states (not including Alaska and Canada)!!
