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Newsletter / Blog
2011-10-07
Bald Eagle Eyes Easy Pickings at Santa Barbara Zoo.
The Bald Eagle - Haliaeetus leucocephalus - was actively scouting through the zoo, perhaps enjoying the
company of other animals - including its captive bald eagle cousins - or
perhaps looking for an easy lunch. To protect the animals from the
eagle's attention, zookeepers moved more than 40 animals out of their
regular open-air enclosures and into more protected locations, including
several types of birds that could be vulnerable as eagle prey. The most sensitive birds, however, could not be moved. The zoo's Flamingo's were nesting during the eagle's visits, and instead of disturbing them
keepers kept guard with a hose just in case the eagle came calling.
Fortunately, it was possible to expedite a permit to relocate the eagle - bald eagles are protected under the Migratory Bird Act and other legislation - and in mid-September the bird was captured and
safely released more than 500 miles away. Hopefully, that distance will
keep the bird from returning to threaten the zoo, and it will be happy
in the company of other wild eagles.
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