First Bald Eagles Hatch in Wild on Catalina Island Since 1940s Chemical Contamination

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

First Bald Eagles Hatch in Wild on Catalina Island Since 1940s Chemical Contamination

04-04-2007 9:02 AM

AVALON, Calif. (Associated Press) -- Two bald eagles have hatched in the wild on Santa Catalina Island for the first time since chemical contamination there wiped out the majestic birds decades ago, conservation officials said.

Biologists spotted the first eaglet Saturday and the second one Sunday, according to Catalina Island Conservancy officials. The eggs had been laid in a cliffside nest on the 76 square-mile island located off Los Angeles County.


This undated image provided by Catalina Island Conservancy, Leslie Baer, shows eagle restoration project director Peter Sharpe of the Institute for Wildlife Studies using a puppet to work with eaglets, born in captivity but soon to be released into the wild, on Catalina Island, Calif. Two bald eagle eggs hatched in the wild on Santa Catalina Island for the first time since the birds were wiped out from chemical contamination almost 40 years ago, officials said Monday April 2, 2007. For nearly two decades, biologists have worked to get the adult eagles on Santa Catalina to reproduce without human assistance after contamination from chemical dumping caused their eggs to weaken and dehydrate (AP Photo/Catalina Island Conservancy, Leslie Baer)


"We were shouting and excited and happy when we got the news," said Ann M. Muscat, president and CEO of the Catalina Island Conservancy.

The chicks belong to an 8-year-old female and a 21-year-old male introduced under a program aimed at restoring the island's bald eagle population.

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