By Morgan Weaver:
Riverbanks Zoo introduced it's new bald eagle to the public Friday. It's the first time in fourteen years the zoo housed an eagle and the zoo staff said displaying the national symbol is special.
"We play a really important part in South Carolina," said bird keeper Christine Talleda. "We have a lot of coastline and that's really important for the bald eagle. They mainly eat fish and so it's a lot of opportunities to get fish here in South Carolina."
South Carolina is home to about two hundred and fifty pairs of bald eagles, but this one actually came from Delaware.
"She was found in a roadside ditch in Delaware when she was about five-years-old by the Tri-State Rehab and Research facility in Delaware," said Talleda. "And they took her in, did some x-rays and found out that she had some old shoulder injuries, and that's why they think she couldn't hunt on her own and wasn't doing a good job in the wild."
The young eagle is now healthy. Some visitors wonder why she is entirely brown. It takes five years before the bald eagle develops those signature white feathers on the head, and the female here is just one year old. It's taken a lot to get her here at the Riverbanks Zoo, but her presence means a little more than the average zoo animal.
"It's a bird that represents our nation," said Talleda. "A lot of people like to see them so we're excited to give the public the chance to see a bald eagle up close and personal."
Bald eagles can live up to 35 years in a zoo, giving South Carolinians years to appreciate a native species and watch her grow.
There were some happy visitors at the zoo this weekend that have been enjoying the eagle already.
"Bald eagles rock," said a member of group of kids.
"I've been coming here since 1975 and this is the first time ever for a bald eagle," said an older visitor.
The eagle's neighbors, the grizzly bears, are also interested in her.
"The grizzlies are very interested in our eagle," said Talleda When we first put her out, they were sitting on the edge of the exhibit, kind of putting their noses up looking at her."
The eagle stole the show from the popular grizzly bear exhibit this weekend as eager visitors came to see the new exhibit.
