Zoo-bred Bald Eagle Thriving In The Wild

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — This 20-year-old bald eagle was hatched at San Francisco Zoo, but moved to a nest of wild eagles when she was just three weeks old. They clearly did a stellar job of raising their foster chick as she is still thriving two decades later.

San Francisco Zoo & Gardens was contacted earlier this year by a woman in Riverside County, who had photographed a bald eagle in the wild. The eagle has wing tags from the zoo.

This bird was part of San Francisco Zoo’s successful Bald Eagle Recovery Program that ran from 1985 to 2007 in conjunction with the Institute of Wildlife Studies and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It was only large-scale captive breeding program for bald eagles in the western United States and successfully reintroduced 103 bald eagles to the wild.

This bird and another female chick were placed in a nest on Catalina Island where they were raised by a pair of wild eagles.

“The photo sent to us was incredible, and gave us a chance to see one of the success stories from our program,” said Tanya Peterson, CEO and Executive Director of the San Francisco Zoological Society. “The fact that this particular female is still thriving in the wild almost 20 years to the month of its hatching marks a significant milestone and one we are happy to celebrate today.”

The photographer, Breana Schmidt of Anza, learned from her town’s Facebook page that a bald eagle had been spotted in town.

“I grabbed my camera and ended up finding her being chased by a bunch of ravens and turkey vultures trying to steal her food,” said Schmidt, who aspires to be a wildlife photographer. “The eagle landed in a yard across from a field at an intersection so I walked the field and got as close as I could, watched her eat and took pictures for about 20 minutes. I was astounded by her incredible wingspan and how effortlessly she flew.”

Schmidt posted the photo on the town’s Facebook page. “Everybody that lives in this town is so excited she is here and wants to know everything they can about her,” said Schmidt.

“This female bred at Lake Hemet for quite a few years before apparently being displaced by another eagle,” said Peter Sharpe, from the Institute for Wildlife Studies, who has monitored the program’s eagles for decades. “She’s just been traveling around Southern California for the past few years.”

The institute's website includes links to bald eagle nest cams.