Janine Jbeili, Lacordaire Academy
Essex County
Second Place, Essex County, Bald Eagle (c) Janine Jbeili
A Bald Eagle's Life
" Don't shoot me! I'm not a hawk!" I am Benny the Bald Eagle, one of the most endangered species throughout North America. We used to be a common site in the United States. We are located around the Northwestern region of North America. We usually nest in the high tops of the trees near the large bodies of water. We eat fish mostly and we are quite sensitive to human activity while nesting. We become mature at age of four or five and at that time we often return to the area where we were born. In 1967, we were put on the list of Endangered species.
When we started becoming endangered, that meant a whole new life for us. Living in the trees began to be unsafe for us. The hunters began to hunt us down, mistakening us as hawks. We were persecuted by farmers as well because they thought of us as a threat to there livestock both on sea and land. This is one reason why my species is endangered, another reason is because once we lay our eggs, there was a harmful chemical in the eggs called the DDT. It affected the thickness of the eggs causing them to become too thin enough to break while the mother is still sitting on it to keep warm. In 1972 the US Federal Government finally banned the usage of the chemical DDT, which stopped us from worrying whenever we lay our eggs and our population started to grow again.
In 2010, we began to grow strong and healthy. Whenever we hunt for food, we always stay in pairs to protect each others lives. The population of our breeding pairs is 500 of us which makes it equal to all of us. Our population increased after the DDT, but we are still mistakened as hawks which drops our population again causing frustration to all of us.
Also we are important in various Native American cultures and religious. We are considered spiritual messengers between gods and humans by some cultures. As the national bird of the United States our pictures are in seals, logos, coins, stamps and other items relating to the US federal government.
In conclusion, you now know how we lived and still live now as an endangered specie. We were hunted by farmers and mistakenly by many hunters who think of us as hawks. You know how much effort we and the Government are trying to save our lives and to one day to stop from being endangered. Our need for a family and community to save our specie from beginning threatened again is the need for any other family and population on earth.
Written by: Janine Jbeili
Lacordaire Academy, Upper Montclair, NJ
Teacher: Ms. Finneran