Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Meet frequent flier Clark, a VIB ambassador
CLARK, a 21-year-old bald eagle, could probably fly himself from Missouri to Washington, DC, but he took a commercial airline last week.
Clark is a frequent commercial flier; he takes at least six trips a year. When the plane touches down, the pilot will often announce to the cabin: “The eagle has landed.”
“I don't know how many times I've heard the pilot make that joke,” said Daniel Cone, Clark's handler. “And every pilot thinks they were the first to say it.”
Like many passengers who touch down in the nation's capital, Clark has a pretty high profile.
His eagle father, Captain, was given as a gift to president Ronald Reagan in 1982 by West German chancellor Helmut Schmidt. The president received two eaglets: Captain and his sister, Carol.
At the time, the bald eagle – the national bird of the US since 1782 – was endangered, and environmentalists were concerned about the gift.
Reagan was only able to keep the pair because of an interpretation of the 1940 Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act that allowed the federal government to import or export the birds, while banning all others from doing so.
Captain became part of a critical conservation breeding programme, fathering about six healthy eaglets that were released into the wild.
The sanctuary's work to revive the bald eagle population was part of a broader effort across the country, which served its purpose. In 2007, the bald eagle was removed from the list of threatened and endangered species.
“It was a success story; the species was saved,” said Cone, 31, who started volunteering with the World Bird Sanctuary when he was 13 and is now the assistant executive director. “We almost lost our national symbol.”
At its low point, the bald eagle population in 1963 had fallen to 417 known nesting pairs. In 2021, there were more than 300 000 bald eagles across the country.
While Clark's siblings were released into the wild, Clark hatched in 2003 with a deformity that probably would have led to his quick demise in nature.
“Clark hatched with bad feet,” Cone said. “His feet did not form properly and just didn't give him the protection he would need. The wild is not the most forgiving place,” he said.
Clark has spent his whole life under human care and become a conservation ambassador and VIB (very important bird).
He travels across the country to perform flight demonstrations, and for educational programmes, fundraisers and sports games. His father died in 2018.
Clark, who is just under 3.5kg and nearly 80cm tall, has taken more than 100 commercial flights.
Through a partnership with Southwest Airlines, Clark glides past airport queues and gets a special escort through the TSA line. He is the first passenger on the plane, and the first passenger off. Plus, he gets plenty of snacks before and after the flight – including his favourites, rats and mice.
Wild bald eagles typically live to be about 25 years old, Cone said, and if they're in human care, they can reach 40 or older. Clark has many more years of travel and important work ahead of him.
“He's an ambassador for his species,” said Cone. |