The Eagle of Distinction

A 25-year-old bald eagle, the second oldest in Alaska and one of the oldest ever recorded, was electrocuted by a power line in the town of Kodiak. According to the American Bird Conservancy, the eagle had been captured and banded in 1989 following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. "That eagle survived one of Mother Nature's harshest climates for 25 years," said ABC president George Fenwick, "only to find death on a man-made utility pole."

The ABC is concerned that new power lines from wind farms and other alternative-energy installations around the country will lead to many more such scenes. "Unless buried or properly insulated," warns Fenwick, "those power lines can electrocute large birds such as bald and golden eagles that perch on poles and lines while hunting."  

Cue "Where Do We Go From Here":

Did you hear about the eagle of distinction/The one that came on every Friday afternoon/Well it seems that eagle has near flown into extinction/Descending to the sand/His biggest enemy being man/Have you ever seen the freedom on the wing?

--Paul Rauber

Photo courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service