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from croplands and urban | lawns, the toxic chemicals washed into rivers and streams and flowed into lakes and seas where they contaminated plants and j* small creatures. Fish fed ^ on these plants and animals, and the chemicals concentrated in their tissues.
As eagles ate the fish, they ingested a deadly dose of these pesticides.
Pesticides broke down in the bird’s body and accumulated in the bird’s fat, in females it prevented the release of calcium into eggshells. Poisoned birds laid eggs with shells so thin that the weight of incubating parents crushed them and eagle numbers plummeted.
In the late 1950s, the effect of rapidly increasing pesticide use was investigated. The threats that poorly controlled chemical use posed to wildlife and human health was recognized. By the 1960s, the bald eagle numbered fewer than 450 nesting pairs. Its near demise was caused by human development and exploitation.
The link between declining eagle populations and pesticides were revealed, and in 1972, the federal government banned its use.
The eagle also suffered lead poisoning from eating waterfowl that had ingested lead shot or been wounded by hunters. Lead poisoning weakened and even killed adult eagles. The use of lead shot in waterfowl hunting was banned nationwide in the early 1980s. Tbday, waterfowl
78.8%