re: Two Honduran men kill a bald eagle to eat it

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Are bald eagles still endangered?

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They are a species of least concern now (the far opposite end from extinct).

The laws that remain specifically to protect them are just due to their meaning to the US.

ETA: I was curious about the timing of them being classified as endangered since it happened when I was a kid.

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In 1967, the Secretary of Interior listed bald eagles south of the 40th parallel under the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966. Following enactment of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the species in 1978 as endangered throughout the lower 48 states, except in Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin, where the species was designated as threatened. The species was not listed as threatened or endangered in Hawaii, because it does not occur there. Alaska populations remained robust at the time and were not listed. Listing the species as endangered provided the springboard for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and our partners to accelerate the pace of recovery through captive breeding programs, reintroduction efforts, law enforcement and nest site protection during the breeding season.

In July 1995, we announced that bald eagles in the lower 48 states had recovered to the point where those populations that were previously considered endangered could be reclassified to the less critical category of threatened. Then in 2007, we estimated there were at least 9,789 nesting pairs of bald eagles in the contiguous United States. Bald eagles staged a remarkable population rebound and recovered to the point that they no longer needed the protection of the Endangered Species Act. Thus, on June 28, 2007, we announced the recovery of our nation’s symbol and removed the species from the list of threatened and endangered species.

In 2016, we published the bald eagle population status report as part of a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. In that report which analyzed data from 2009, the bald eagle population in the lower 48 status was estimated to be 72,434 individuals, including 30,548 breeding pairs. Then in 2021, we published a technical update that provided the newest estimates for the bald eagle population in the lower 48 states for the period 2018 to 2019. These estimates totaled 316,700 individuals, which included 71,467 breeding pairs.

The recovery of the bald eagle is one of the most well-known conservation success stories of all time. We continue to work with our partners in state and federal agencies, tribes, nongovernment organizations and private landowners to ensure that America's national symbol flourishes.

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US Fish and Wildlife

They were down to 417 known nesting pairs in 1963.

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Are bald eagles still endangered?

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Not why they're protected within the US.

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Are bald eagles still endangered?

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Not even close. In fact, I read an argument that they are becoming overpopulated.