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Inspirational Story of the "Rebirth" of The Eagle-Fiction!
Summary of the eRumor: The eRumor says that eagles
can live to be 70, but in order to reach that age it makes a painful
decision in its 40s. At that time the eagle goes through a 150-day
change that extends the eagle's life that includes breaking off the beak
and feathers so new ones can grow.
The Truth: This email, which often includes pictures of
eagles and is sometimes a PowerPoint presentation, is a complete myth.
According to the folks at
www.baldeagleinfo.com, "An eagle's beak and talons grow continuously,
because they are made of keratin, the same as human hair and fingernails."
Also, the molting process, when the feathers are slowly replaced, takes
place each year but not all the feathers are replaced each time. "An
eagle without feathers, talons, and a beak would die of starvation and
exposure," according to the site.
Updated 3/29/08
A real example of the eRumor as it has
appeared on the Internet:
The story of the eagle - This is incredible!
The eagle has the longest life-span of its' species.
It can live up to 70 years. But to reach this age, the eagle must make a
hard decision in its' 40's.
Its' long and flexible talons can no longer grab prey which serves as
food.
Its' long and sharp beak becomes bent.
Its' old-aged and heavy wings, due to their thick feathers, become stuck
to its' chest and make it difficult to fly.
Then, the eagle is left with only two options: die or go through
a painful process of change which lasts 150 days.
The process requires that the eagle fly to a mountain top and sit on its'
nest.
There the eagle knocks its' beak against a rock until it plucks it out.
After plucking it out, the eagle will wait for a new beak to grow back and
then it will pluck out its' talons.
When its' new talons grow back, the eagle starts plucking its' old-aged
feathers.
And after five months, the eagle takes its famous flight of rebirth and
lives for 30 more years.
