The Bald Eagle as an Endangered Species

The Bald Eagle as an Endangered Species

The bald eagle is the most well known endangered species because it is the nation's symbol. It is suppose to stand for freedom and the American way, but if we allow the bald eagle to become extinct how can we let something that doesn't exist anymore stand for freedom and the American way. Being the symbol of the nation, the bald eagle was put on the endangered species list faster than most species. When the bald eagle reached its low point in the 1960's (400 pairs), it was put on the endangered species list. The many federal acts or programs, the "Endangered Species Act" being the most effective, that were created for the bald eagle show how much the government cares about the symbol of our nation. There are four major reasons why the bald eagle is an endangered species.

The first reason why the bald eagle became an endangered species is the pesticide DDT. This pesticide is a major reason because the pesticide did not really affect the eagles who absorbed the pesticide, but the pesticide made the shells of the eggs too soft. Because the shells were soft the eggs could not make it until they were ready to be hatched.

Graham Jr., the author of the article "Winged Victory," states that:

The species continued a steady decline into the 1950's, when its extirpation south of Canada came close to reality. Protective laws were by then no help. Evidence began to build that DDT and other long-lived insecticides, made available to the public after World War II, were draining off of heavily sprayed farms and forests and contaminating aquatic food chains. Living at the top of those food chains, bald eagles accumulated the toxins in their tissues. (2)

Graham makes the point that the that the pesticide DDT is a reason for the bald eagle becoming an endangered species by expressing the fact that the pesticide DDT affects the eggs of the eagles. Since it affects the eggs, the population of the eagles suffer, and the bald eagle gets closer to becoming endangered species. "The bald eagle came dangerously close to extinction from eating fish that had been poisoned with the pesticide DDT. The birds that did not die immediately after eating the either could not reproduce or the shells of the eggs it laid were so thin that the babies could not survive" (Cessina B. Cornella 51). Cornella focuses on the point that sometimes...

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...ects built by man, the habitat of the bald eagle has been greatly decreased. If there was no such thing as interference by man, the bald eagle, and many other species, would not have become endangered for a long span of time.

These four major reasons for the bald eagle becoming an endangered species are only a few of all the reasons. Despite there being many reasons for the bald eagle becoming an endangered species, the all relate to one big reason. That reason being man. All four reasons listed have to do with man. The pesticide DDT deals with man by man being the one who created the pesticide. The climate and habitat problems are caused by the interference a man in an already balanced ecosystem. Hunting deals with man by man being the one who is hunting and killing the poor defenseless bald eagle. Civilization deals with man by man being the one of built and established the civilization. The civilization interferes with an already balanced ecosystem, knocking it out of balance.

Without the inference of man, not only would the bald eagle not have become an endangered species as fast as it did, but no other species would have become an endangered species as fast as they did.