(light music) - Hey, kids.

My name's Hannah, and this is Lynn.

Lynn is an adult bald eagle.

She's lived at the zoo for most of her life, and she's 28 years old.

She was in the wild when she was a baby, but unfortunately she got hurt in the wild and is no longer able to live out there.

And that's something that we do at the zoo is that we provide a home for animals that can't live in the wild anymore, like Lynn.

So, the reason she lives with us at the zoo is she's what's called an ambassador.

So, that means she's got a very important job.

She goes around and she teaches kids about bald eagles, and that's something really important to us here at the zoo is to not only let you guys meet animals up close, but help you learn about how you can help them in the wild.

So, you might have noticed she's not bald.

So, why are they called bald eagles?

The reason is because there's an old word that sounds like the word bald that actually means white.

So, bald eagle basically means white-headed eagle.

These guys were an endangered species.

Do you know what an endangered species is?

That basically means that these guys, there weren't many left in the wild.

Luckily, people decided to work together to protect them.

So, now these guys are doing great, and it's illegal to even harm or own even a feather from them.

Which sounds really strict, but it's laws like that that people made that saved these guys in the wild.

So, even though bald eagles are not endangered anymore, they're still really important to the environment, just like all of the animals that you guys can find in your backyard.

Can you think of what you can do to help animals in your backyard?

One of the most simple things you can do is don't litter.

Birds of prey and other animals are attracted to litter, especially on the side of the road, and that might cause them to get injured by cars.

So, one of the most simple things you can do for eagles and all other animals is throw your trash away in a trash can and leave it where it belongs.

Bald eagles are birds of prey.

Birds of prey have three things that make them special.

The first is they've got sharp, hooked beaks.

You guys see that beak?

That's kind of like her knife and her fork.

So, that's how she cuts up pieces of her food.

These guys are meat eaters, so everything about them is made to eat meat, which means they are carnivores.

The second thing that they have that makes them special is talons.

So, these guys have long, hooked talons.

That's their main weapon.

That's how they take care of and catch their food.

It's also how they hold on to fish in the slippery water.

And then the other thing they have is forward-facing eyes, just like you and I do.

So, she looks straight forward, and that helps her find what she wants to hunt.

These guys have amazing vision, so they can see something from over a mile in the air.

So, bald eagles are found all over the United States, so that means they can be found right here in Arkansas.

They love to eat fish, so they usually live around water.

So, you might see them around rivers, lakes, and ponds.

So, bald eagles love to eat fish, so they've got special adaptations for helping them eat fish.

So, an adaptation means that there are special things about her for helping her catch fish.

One of the main things is her feet.

I don't know if you guys see, she's got little bumps all over her feet.

Those help her hold on to slippery fish.

So, they're like grips.

These guys love to eat fish.

So, they live in trees near rivers and waterways.

They also build their nest there.

So, bald eagles are known for building gigantic nests in the trees.

They build huge nests.

They find another eagle that they pair with, and then they work together to raise their young.

When bald eagles find another eagle to pair with and they fall in love, these guys stay together for life.

So, that's something that's unique about eagles and birds of prey.

Now, she's a pretty big bird.

Female bald eagles are a lot bigger than males because they have to carry eggs.

Do you guys want to try to guess how much they weigh?

- Hmm.

(upbeat music) - Hmm.

- She only weighs 10 pounds.

(child gasps) The reason that they're a lot lighter than they look is because they have hollow bones.

So, that means their bones are pretty much empty inside, and they don't have bladders.

So, everything about them is to make them as light as possible so that they can stay up in the air.

The bald eagle is a symbol of America, and they were even put on our national seal.

(seal barks) Not that kind of seal.

Lynn and bald eagles are a perfect symbol for America because they represent independence, pride, beauty, and freedom.

And there's nothing more free than a bald eagle because they're the top bird in their environment.

So, not only is Lynn a great symbol for our country, but bald eagles are a great symbol of what you guys can do when all humans work together to protect our environment and the world we live in.

So, thank you guys for joining us today.

I hope you really enjoyed learning about Lynn and about bald eagles.

I hope that this encourages you to come to the zoo and meet Lynn up close and meet all of her other friends and our other animals here at the zoo.

Bye for now.