| Latin Name: | Haliaeetus leucocephalus alascanus |
| Category: | Birds |
| Fun Facts: |
- An adult eagle has about 7,000 feathers.
- The largest eagle nest on record weighed two tons. That’s about as much as a large car.
- Bald, used to mean “white” instead of “hairless,” the bald eagle was named for its white head.
- Eagles do not have to eat every day. They have a special pouch inside their throat, called a crop, in which they can store food.
- Eagles are raptors, so they have hooked beaks, strong talons and excellent eyesight.
- A bald eagle can see a fish in the water from several hundred feet above.
- In the late 1700s, there was a debate over whether the United States’ national bird should be the bald eagle or the turkey. You know who won!
- An adult male eagle is about 2.5 feet long and weighs around 10 pounds. A female eagle is a little larger, about 3 feet long and around 13 pounds. An eagle’s wingspan is from 6 to 8 feet across, which is longer than the average adult human is tall.
- The bald eagle’s eye is almost as large as a human’s, but it sees four times better than a human who has perfect vision.
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| Information: |
When the bald eagle was chosen as the United States’ national bird, it was because it symbolized power and freedom. It is hard to imagine but this symbol of strength was nearly destroyed in America. At one point, there were nearly 50,000 bald eagles in the United States. By 1972 only about 800 breeding pairs remained in the country. In 1979 there were only four breeding pairs living in Ohio.
What happened to the eagles? The largest problem was the use of a pesticide called DDT. Farmers used DDT to get rid of insects that might destroy their crops. Unfortunately DDT was made of chemicals dangerous for other wildlife too. These chemicals washed into lakes and rivers and contaminated the fish. Eagles like to live close to rivers and lakes because fish is one of their favorite foods. The fish the eagles were eating contained those dangerous chemicals. Though the eagles did not die from the chemicals, they produced eggs that were very soft and broke very easily, so new eagles were not being born.
Fortunately the use of chemicals like DDT became illegal. The bald eagle was placed on the list of endangered species. It is illegal to hurt eagles in any way or to own any parts of an eagle—even a feather! Because of breeding programs, the population of bald eagles is once again growing; Ohio now has over 100 nesting pairs. In the United States, the bald eagle may soon be taken off the endangered species list.
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| Habitat: |
Located in the North America Region. This region depicts North American habitats of grasslands, forests and prairies. The bald eagle exhibit is found between the forest and wetland sections and has a large aviary with tree limbs placed strategically to assist the rehabilitated eagles in climbing to the upper levels of the space.
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