Bald Eagle Exhibit Set To Open At SF Zoo

by Phil McIlrath, KDLT News
March 15, 2012 3:39 PM


While the bald eagle is still protected by federal law, countless raptors are injured or shot each year. Those that survive are sent to a rehabilitation program at the Great Plains Zoo in conjunction with the Game, Fish and Parks Department.
    
Now the program will be open to visitors.
    
They're our national symbol- a flying image of grace, power and beauty, but despite being a living canvas for freedom, they still need our help every now and then.

"Sometimes their injuries are so severe that they can't go back into the wild and so we need to provide a good home for them at the zoo,"said Elizabeth Whealy, Pres. and CEO of the Great Plains Zoo.

Now they'll be on display, for everyone to see-in a spot in the park that might look a little familiar; Goat Mountain, where both goats and wallabies have called home.

"Bald eagles are amazing creatures and to see them up close,"said Whealy.

But this rehab program isn't just for Bald Eagles,both the red tailed hawk and great horned owl are also raptors that benefit from the program. Piercing eyes and razor-like talons once had these birds of prey at the top of the food chain, but because of gunshot wounds, poison, burns, or freak accidents in nature, they would die unless man intervened.

"The bald eagle has been an amazing success story coming from the brink of extinction to a good healthy populations. and those are things that are really focused on especially at the zoo,"said Whealy.

A new, safe haven to call home, while giving a symbol beauty, and grace the respect it deserves.

 The bald eagle exhibit is set to open this summer.

Phil McIlrath
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