Bald eagles in Channel Islands might start eating endangered wildlife, researchers say
The warning was based on an extensive analysis of the shifting diets of the opportunistic foragers from the Pleistocene era, about 20,000 years ago, to the late 1960s, when they were decimated by DDT.
A growing population of American bald eagles in Channel Islands National Park might eventually start feasting on rare seabirds and endangered island foxes, researchers reported Monday.
The warning was based on an extensive analysis of the shifting diets of the opportunistic foragers from the Pleistocene era, about 20,000 years ago, to the late 1960s, when they were decimated by widespread use of DDT. It was reported in the online Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
An ongoing National Park Service restoration effort has successfully reestablished an estimated six or seven pairs of bald eagles on the islands off the Ventura County coast, federal wildlife authorities said. The population could reach a historic high of about 25 pairs within 10 years.