66 THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA 



XXVIII. A NOTE ON THE ECONOMIC STATUS OF THE 



BALD EAGLE IN ALASKA 



Ed. D. Crabb 



From the Zoological Laboratory of the University of Oklahoma. 

 Contribution No. 23, Second Series. 



During the last two to three years the voices of eminent 

 wild life . conservators in the eastern states have been lifted in 

 vain against a bounty which was placed on the heads of eagles of 

 Alaska, in 1918. Among these Dr. W. T. Hornaday has probably 

 been the most active in pleading for "Old Baldy." He points out 

 that the bald eagle is being unjustly exterminated, notwithstanding 

 the fact that this bird is primarily a fisherman, subsisting chiefly 

 upon salmon which have spawned and died, as well as upon other 

 fishes which it captures alive, and that it in no wise interfers with 

 the activities of man. 



On the other hand many residents of Alaska and sportsmen in 

 the States are clamoring for the destruction of Alaska's eagles. 

 These men charge bald eagles with having devastated fox farms, 

 destroyed salmon to the extent of injuring the business of canneries, 

 killed lambs of mountain sheep and destroyed ptarmigan to an 

 alarming extent in Alaska. 



The writer, during the late spring, summer and early fall of 

 1921, observed bald eagles at different points along the Alaska 

 coast from its southern extremity around the bay to near the west- 

 ern end of the Alaska Peninsula. Although he saw scores of eagles 

 in no instance did they appear other than as peaceful fisher-folk. 



The stomach contents of eagles, Haliaeetus Icucocebhalus alas- 

 caiiits (C. H. Townsend), which I examined contained chiefly fish 

 bones, as follows : 



A female taken at Uyak Bay, on Kodiak Island, May 5, was 

 empty. 



Another female taken near King Cove, May 25, contained the 

 feet of a ptarmigan and a quantity of fish bones. 



The stomach of a specimen collected at Pavlof Bay, May 11, 

 contained only fish bones. 



Remains of fish were conspicuous at every nest that I visited, 

 which contained or recently had contained young birds. - One nest 

 in particular, which contained two eaglets and was built on the 

 rocky headland west of Ruby's Lagoon, at Pavlof Bay, showed 

 no evidence of food other than fish having ever been eaten by this 

 family. A major portion of seven dollie varden trout, ranging in 

 length while alive from twelve to eighteen or twenty inches and still 

 fresli. were h'ini;- on the edsje of the nest. Other fish bones were 



