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No Longer The Varmints Of America: The Great American Eagle
by Raquel Amberson
http://www.roweagle.com
The bald eagle, also called the American eagle, is a
national symbol for the United States of America. In the
past, Americans have treated their national symbol poorly.
An eagle is a bird of prey, and early pioneers considered
birds of prey as "varmints" that needed to be destroyed
because these birds ate fish and some domestic animals
that could be used as food for the human settlers. The
notion of raptors, another name for birds of prey that
includes hawks and owls, as vermin continued into the
twentieth century.
Ironically, it took the nasty pesticide DDT to improve
American's outlook on this graceful eagle. Once DDT started
to affect animals up the food chain toward the eagle, it
didn't take long before eagles were also being poisoned.
The DDT directly affected the bird's eggs, which were laid
with extremely thin shells and made the hatching success
rates very low. Soon, these wondrous birds were placed on
the endangered list.
Fortunately, many conservation groups embrace these
endangered species and work hard to restore their balance in
nature while taking steps to improved their population.
Dollywood's American Eagle Foundation is one such group that
is devoted to improving the population of American Eagles.
Dollywood Theme Park is in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (the
heart of America) and is headquarters to the Foundation,
which was founded in 1985. Motivated to restore the eagle
population through protection wild eagles, Dollywood and
American Eagle Foundation care for over 60 eagles that are
no longer able to return to their natural habitat due to
injury. These captured birds of prey participate in a very
active and successful breeding program, which has resulted
in hundreds of eaglets (young eagles) that were released in
the wild.
Every year, millions of people are introduced to our
national symbol at Dollywood's "Eagle Mountain Sanctuary".
Visitors are able to experience firsthand the beauty of
these birds at viewing sites and during demonstrations
called "Wings of America". Trained eagle handlers give
daily demonstrations featuring eagles, along with owls,
vultures and falcons. Through this sanctuary and other
programs sponsored by Dollywood and the Foundation, the
public is gaining valuable insight into the need to respect
and preserve this great national bird.
Dolly Parton, founder of Dollywood, is the Foundation's
spokesperson. Traveling cross-country to speak on behalf of
the Foundation's goals, Dolly increases our awareness about
eagle preservation efforts. In recognition of Dolly's work
with this cause and her support of the National Wildlife
Refuge System, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gave Dolly
the prestigious "Partnership Award".
The American Eagle Foundation has a trained eagle named
Challenger who is allowed to fly free and returns to his
handler. Challenger has traveled the country and appeared
at the White House, the State Department and other federal
agencies. He has also flown free at a number of sporting
events such as the World Series. It's time for Americans to
be proud of their national symbol once again.
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