Naturalist To Get Eagle Soon

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The Shelby County Naturalist, Christina Groen, is soon going to get an eagle. Eventually, there will be two eagles kept at Nishna Bend Recreational Area for the public to learn about. Both birds have injuries and are not able to fly or be released into the wild. They were both shot down, with one of them having lead poisoning and was lucky to live. For the DNR, Christina must build a proper cage and have training. The projects total cost should be around $12,000. They are trying to get a grant and are currently taking donations. Christina would like for hunters that don't eat their game to donate it to give to the eagles for food.

Here are some questions I asked Christina about taking care of hawks and eagles.

1. How much does an eagle eat in a day?
An eagle eats about 10% of it body weight per day. This averages out to be about one pound per day. The eagles favorite thing to eat is fish, but they will eat most anything they can get their hands on. They are known to be scavengers, especially in the winter.

2. How many different types of eagles are there in America?
There are only two types of eagles in America, the bald eagle and the golden eagle. The golden eagle isn't seen to often in Iowa.

3. Does it cost a lot to own a eagle?
It can. Our hawk cage cost about $7,000 to build, including the equipment for her. We estimate everything for the eagle is around $15,000. Most of the food is donated, which is no additional cost.

4. How much training do you have to go through before you can own a eagle?
The law recently changed. For the eagle, I have to have 300-500 hours of training with other raptors. I have to start with small ones first, like a kestrel or a screech owl, before I can get larger bird like a hawk or great horned owl.

5. Is a eagle hard to keep alive?
As long as your careful, its not hard to keep a hawk alive. All you have to do is remove the guts from what it eats, so they don't get parasites.

6. How many years can an eagle live to be?
In captivity, an eagle can easily live to be 30 years. But out in the wild, they will usualy live to be 20-25 years.

By: Josh