What the bald eagle and a tiny bat can tell us about Australia’s broken system for protecting nature | Nick O'Malley
. “Perhaps it landed on a leaf at dawn after a night feeding on moths and mosquitoes, and was torn to pieces by fire ants; perhaps it succumbed to a mounting toxic burden placed on its tiny body by insecticide spraying. Or maybe it was simply worn out with age and ceaseless activity, and died quietly in its tree hollow … With its passing, an entire species winked out of existence.
A bald eagle carrying a branch lands in its nest atop a tree overlooking the Raccoon River in 2018 at Gray’s Lake Park in Des Moines, Iowa.Four years after Benjamin died of exposure in Tasmania the North American bald eagle was recognised as being at risk. Like the Thylacine its numbers had plummeted due to hunting and habitat destruction.
When there were fewer than 400 breeding pairs left outside of Alaska the bald eagle was listed as endangered hin 1967. In US endangered species legislation compels action, explains Wintle. When an animal is listed authorities must act. Critical habitat must be protected and funds for rehabilitation efforts supplied.
As a result, says Wintle, while in America the population of an endangered bird will on average double after 20 years and grows on average by 600 per cent in the 40 years after it is listed, in Australia it is more likely to continue to decline.
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