I saw some pretty crazy animals at the San Diego Zoo last month, including several birds of prey. Perhaps the best known of these is the American Bald Eagle, the national symbol of the United States. Well, this most recent news — as reported by Reason Magazine — should bring a big smile to Stephen Colbert‘s face.
After being on the endangered list for 40 years, the American Bald Eagle is now officially off of that list. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the majestic bird isn’t in danger, per se, but it does mean that they are much more plentiful in the wild than they once were.
If we go way back to 1967, there were fewer than 500 breeding pairs of bald eagles in the lower 48 states. There were many more in Alaska and Canada, but being the way these sort of stats go, conservationists were much more interested in the lower 48 states than the rest of the world. In any case, institutions — like the banning of DDT, an insecticide that “led to pervasive reproductive failures” — were put in place to protect the bird and today, “the bald eagle is doing well.”
In fact, from those original 500 breeding pairs, Americans can now proudly say that there are “at least” 9,921 pairs in the contiguous United States. That’s a huge improvement, and as such, the bald eagle will be officially “delisted” for the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on June 29, coincidentally the same day that will see the launch of the Apple iPhone.
Yes, Stephen Colbert’s favorite bald eagle — Stephen Jr. — can now soar the skies with virtually no ESA protection. Wait… is that a good thing?
the stanley park society actually reported 5 eaglet deaths in the first weeks which is abnormally high
This is good news… I suppose… Until someone decides that Eagle hunting season “officially” start on June 29… Hey, they can even film it on their new iPhone! 😉
This is good news. I hope more birds and animals come of the list…