Bald Eagle Fact

There are many sources where you can ascertain or verify a Bald Eagle fact. The relations of these birds with humans were very tense for several centuries. Before the arrival of the first settlers to the New World, Bald Eagles may have numbered around 500,000. They inhabited a vast area from Alaska to Florida and nested in almost all lower states. Having no natural enemies, Bald Eagles were abundant in America. Humans became the first threat to the population of these birds. There is no single cause for quick decline in the Bald Eagle population. People hunted and fished in favorite places of eagles and competed with them for food. Humans had the advantage over these birds and killed them as pests.

It’s a historic Bald Eagle fact that first settlers moved westwards and destroyed the habitat of the eagles. These birds cannot live close to humans, so they had to move to isolated mountainous areas. Fishermen killed more than 100,000 Bald Eagles in Alaska, as they considered these birds to be the treat to the salmon population. The population of the species declined sharply in the late 19th century. People became aware of the problem only in the 1930s when the Bald Eagle was highly endangered. The Bald Eagle Act passed in 1940 helped protect the population from further declining.

At the same time another problem occurred. DDT and other pesticides came to use in agriculture. Chemicals sprayed on plants were consumed by insects and small mammals and washed into rivers with rains where they contaminated fish. A sad Bald Eagle fact is that this species is at the top of the contaminated food chain. It consumes the poisoned pray and accumulates the chemicals in the organism. DDT poison was lethal for many birds of prey and their eggs.

In 1967, the Bald Eagle was declared an endangered species. In 1995, its status was upgraded to threatened. Nowadays, the population of this species has recovered, but it still needs protection. Hunting Bald Eagles is illegal throughout its range. The population of the Bald Eagle is estimated around 70,000 with about a half of it living in Alaska. For eagle viewing places and interesting Bald Eagle fact, you can surf the Internet.