EAGLES

1. EAGLES This is a presentation about the most spiritual animal of all cultures, the eagle. By: Terri LeGault

2. The Spirituality of Eagles • Eagles are spiritual creatures known by everyone. The Aztecs believe that there is a link between eagles and the sun. They say that during the creation of the world the eagle and the jaguar fought over who would have the honor of becoming the sun. In the end the eagle settled it and flung himself into the fire and became the sun. The jaguar ended up becoming the moon.

3. Spirituality of EaglesCont. • Another myth about the eagle that has been around for centuries was that the eagle was the sole animal who could look into the sun. It is thought that when the eagle becomes old that they go to the sun and singe their wings and evaporate the fog from their eyes. Then he dips himself three times into the fountain and becomes renewed and young again. • The Christians adopted this symbolism. They compared the eagle looking into the sun to Christ looking at His Father, and the renewal of the eagle's youth through its plunge into the fountain to the renewal of the soul through baptism. Even today, an eagle may be spied on the baptismal fonts in some older churches • For more information: http://www.baldeagleinfo.com/

4. Our National Emblem • Since 1782 the bald eagle has been the national bird of the United States. • The bald eagle was chosen to be our national bird because it is seen as a symbol of strength, courage, freedom and immorality. • Benjamin Franklin was an opponent to the bald eagle being the national emblem. He wished for the turkey to be it instead, but obviously nobody else felt the same way as he did. • Another reason why the eagle is our national bird is because it is only found in the North America.

5. Our National Emblem Cont. • The bald eagle appears on the president’s flag, the mace of the House of Representatives, institutions and building, documents, dollar bills, coins, etc. This makes it the most pictured bird in America. • For more information about our National Emblem go to http://www.usflag.org/bald.eagle.html or http://www.historyroom.com/The%20American%20Bald%20Eagle.htm

6. Description of a Bald Eagle • All eagles have rounded, broad wings and they have a 80 inch wingspan.They weigh about 10-14 pounds. • Immature eagles do not look like regular adult eagles. They have a dark beak and a dark brown body, including their head and tail. • Adult eagles had a yellow beak and a white head and tail. • Immature eagles take about 4-5 years to become adults. • Female eagles are usually slightly larger than the male eagles. They are about 35-37 inches in length. • Male eagles are about 30-34 inches in length. • For more information: http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/i3520id.html

7. An Endangered Species • In 1782, as many as 100,000 nesting bald eagles lived in the continental United States, excluding Alaska. By 1963, only 417 nesting pairs were found in the lower 48 states. • Now there are 5,748 nesting pairs in the United States. Which is a great improvement. • On the eve of Independence Day weekend, President Clinton marked the culmination of a three-decade effort to protect and recover this majestic bird by announcing a proposal to remove it from the list of threatened and endangered species. • For more information: http://www.fws.gov/r9extaff/eaglejuly2.html

8. Activities • A picture to print off for the class to color. • A quiz for the class to work on about the eagle. Here are the answers to the quiz.