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Bald Eagle

Before European settlers arrived in North America, there may have been as many as 500,000 Bald Eagles in what is now the U.S., but by the 1960s and 70s, many states had placed Bald Eagles on their lists of endangered species, due in large part to the increasing popularity of DDT as an insecticide. By July 4, 1976, the Bald Eagle was officially listed as a nationally endangered species. Our Bald Eagle, Butte, was collected shortly after hatching in 1988 by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for a captive breeding program at the San Francisco Zoo. He and his partner Shasta (since passed) were responsible for 12 clutches of eggs, averaging 3 eggs in each. By 1995, the Bald Eagle status was upgraded to Threatened, and by 2007, the Department of the Interior officially removed the Bald Eagle from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Species. In 2012, Butte was brought to the Museum & Aquarium to live out his retirement. Butte’s life story speaks to the greater conservation success story of his species, and we are excited to share that story with visitors daily.

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