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Bald Eagle No Longer an Endangered Species
Let's give a big welcome back to all the bald eagles out there! For nearly 40 years, bald eagles were on the government's list of animals and plants that were in danger of dying out.
The eagles were vanishing because people used the land the birds lived on for farming or for building houses. Another big problem was a chemical called DDT. People used DDT to kill insects that ate crops. The poisonous DDT got into the eagles' food. It also damaged their eggshells so they couldn't hatch healthy eagle chicks.
In 1789, the Bald Eagle officially became the National Symbol of the US. Back then, there were an estimated 100,000 nesting eagles. Bald eagles mate for life, so they are counted in pairs. By 1963, there were only 417 pairs outside of Alaska. The Environmental Protection Agency banned DDT, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the bald eagle as an endangered species.
Now there are 9,789 nesting pairs and the bald eagle is off the list. People are seeing them all over the country! They have a six-foot wingspan, a white head, and white tail feathers. Their nests are also hard to miss! They're ten feet across and can weigh up to half a ton! Keep an eye out for a bald eagle. Maybe one lives by you!
I'm Ben and that's what happened in our nation this week!
Let's find out how much you know about Bald Eagles in Just the Facts!
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