How did the bald eagle get delisted as an endangered species?
Eagle Facts • Live 15 to 25 years in the wild • Weigh an average of 14 pounds (6.3 kilograms), though females are larger than males • Feature a wingspan between 5.5 and 8 feet (1.6 and 2.4 meters) • Generally mate for life • Build nests weighing up to 1,000 pounds (453 kilograms) • Lay one to three eggs each year
Benjamin Franklin famously got his feathers ruffled when the Second Continental Congress selected the bald eagle to symbolize the fledgling United States. In a letter to his daughter, Franklin charged that the eagle has a “bad moral character” because it lazily steals food from hawks and is easily frightened when approached by smaller birds [source: Franklin Institute]. Instead, Franklin wanted to substitute the turkey, despite it being “a little vain and silly.” At least, he reas
