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Location:

Arizona Trail - between great horned owl and Mexican wolf

Bald Eagle

  • Theia (F) ~ 6/1/2002

  • Apollo (M) ~ 1/1/2007

Identifying Features:

  • Theia has a right wing amputation 

  • Apollo has broken left shoulder

History:

  • Theia was rescued in Texas and transferred from Houston Zoo

  • Apollo was originally rescued in West Virginia

More Information:

  • IUCN: Lease Concern

  • Primarily eat fish

  • Tend to live near bodies of water

  • Endangered in the past due to pesticide use - DDT

  • Reach mature coloration at about 4-5 years

  • Average life span about 30 years in the wild, but can live much longer in human care.

  • Nests typically 5 feet wide

  • Range: This species breeds in Canada, USA, Mexica, and the French island territories of Saint Pierre and Miquelon. 

  • Large size variation: in Southern U.S. - weigh 7-9 lbs; in Alaska, females are 12-14 lbs

  • Females are bigger than males

  • Often solidary, although they pair bond during the nesting season

Conservation Success!

  • 1940 - Congress passes the Bald Eagle Protection Act

  • 1967 - Bald Eagle declared an endangered species under Endangered Species Protection Act

  • 1972 - The EPA prohibits use of DDT as pesticide due to it's effects on the bald eagle population

  • 1995 - Reclassified as "threatened" rather than "endangered"

  • 2004 - Bald Eagle officially taken off the "threatened" list

  • Today - Estimated that there are around 12,000 breeding pairs in lower 48 states. In Alaska, there are far more!

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