Meet Cayuga, a male bald eagle from Cornell University Wildlife Health Clinic in Ithaca, NY. Cayuga has been under professional care and rehabilitation since 2015 due to a gunshot wound that resulted in partial amputation of his left wing. While Cayuga can no longer hunt in the wild, he can help educate us about raptors and their contributions to a healthy ecosystem.
Construction on the Eagle Exhibit at the Menominee Park Zoo commenced in the fall of 2019 and was completed during spring 2021. This year-round exhibit will house our non-releasable Bald Eagles. The exhibit is nestled between the wolf and elk exhibits on the eastern side of the zoo. A wing size display on the overlook between the wolf and elk exhibit was created and installed by an Eagle Scout in anticipation of the exhibit.
On July 19th 2017, the OZS and Winnebago Audubon hosted “Birds and Brews at the Zoo: Eagle Extravaganza.” The event raised funds for this wonderful new addition to the Menominee Park Zoo and included a live raptor demonstrations by Schlitz Audubon Center and Ann Rosenberg, an educational talk by WDNR biologist, Steve Easterly, and children’s activities. If you missed the event and you still want the Eagle Exhibit to become a reality, we continue to accept donations for this exhibit through this website. As a result of your generosity, the OZS will donate $15,000 toward the exhibit’s construction.
Bald Eagles are a magnificent bird with a wingspan between 5.9 and 7.5 feet. Bald eagles are not actually bald; the name derives from an older meaning of the word, “white headed”. The adult is mainly brown with a white head and tail. The sexes are identical in plumage, but females are about 25 percent larger than males, a trend among raptorial birds. The beak is large and hooked. The plumage of the immature is brown.
Bald Eagles were listed as an endangered species in 1978. The protections they received, including the ban of DDT, a harmful pesticide, contributed to their recovery and as a result their populations rebounded. The species was delisted in 2007. Presently these majestic birds can be observed throughout the Winnebago Lakes System which provides this species excellent breeding habitat.
Unfortunately, Bald Eagles still die as a consequence of human activity, such as lead poisoning, and collisions with both vehicles and buildings. If an eagle survives after going to a rehabilitation center, it may not be releasable after sustaining these injuries. Lead poisoning can cause irreversible nervous system damage and broken bones from collisions may not heal properly resulting in birds that cannot fly or hunt for themselves.
Did You Know?
Eagles have large, hooked beaks and powerful talons which help them catch prey.
