By NYA Editorial Staff
The White House recently posted an image of a bald eagle standing triumphantly over what appeared to be a defeated Canada goose. As relations between the United States and Canada are becoming more hostile, the symbolism was obvious: America prevails over Canada.
It was also, as it turns out, historically incorrect.
A recent article in The Guardian points out that Canada played an important role in bringing the bald eagle back from the brink of extinction in the United States. The bird owes part of its survival in the U.S. to Canada.
The bald eagle was once abundant throughout North America. But Americans eventually became one of its biggest threats. Eagles were viewed as targets for hunters competitors along with fish and game. Government-supported bounty programs resulted in more than 100,000 bald eagles being killed before the program ended in 1953.
The next threat to the species was the pesticide DDT that accumulated in birds of prey and caused their eggshells to become so thin that many eggs broke before they could hatch. By 1963, only 417 breeding pairs of bald eagles remained in the U.S.
When American conservationists began trying to rebuild the population, Canada became an important source of help. DDT had been used less extensively there, and Canadian biologists had access to healthy eagle populations.
An effort known as Operation Eaglet transported young Canadian bald eagles into the United States, where they were raised and eventually released. The program brought 88 eagles from Saskatchewan to Pennsylvania alone. That state now has roughly 300 breeding pairs.
Other Canadian provinces contributed birds as well. So, when the White House uses an American bald eagle to symbolize dominance over Canada, it is worth remembering that the story of the bald eagle is not exclusively American.