Comeback kid.Bald eagles are back. Once rare, the number of eagles is now so high that these raptors (birds of prey) may soon lose their spot on the government's list of endangered species endangered species, any plant or animal species whose ability to survive and reproduce has been jeopardized by human activities. In 1999 the U.S. government, in accordance with the U.S. . Habitat loss, hunting, and DDT DDT or 2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-1,1,1,-trichloroethane, chlorinated hydrocarbon compound used as an insecticide. First introduced during the 1940s, it killed insects that spread disease and feed on crops. poisoning brought eagles to near extinction (no members of the species remain) in the 1960s. DDT--a chemical used to keep crops safe from insects--caused eagles to produce eggshells too weak to house babies. Conservation efforts and a ban on DDT boosted the number of nesting eagle pairs in the lower 48 states from 417 in 1963 to 7,678 in 2003. Result? The birds will likely come off the endangered species list by the end of 2004. Bryan D. Watts, director of the Center for Conservation Biology conservation biology n. The branch of biology that deals with the effects of humans on the environment and with the conservation of biological diversity. at the College of William and Mary Noun 1. William and Mary - joint monarchs of England; William III and Mary II , says, "It's probably one of the greatest conservation success stories we've had in this country." |
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