Story last updated at 12/23/2009 - 12:19 pm To say bald eagles
are kleptomaniacs wouldn't be quite correct-they do have a
persistent impulse to steal, but for them it is not abnormal.
More precisely, they engage in kleptoparasitism. A parasite
takes without making any useful return and for the eagle it is
parasitism by theft-a form of feeding in which one steals
another animal's food rather than hunting for themselves. Of
course eagles hunt, but I'm amazed at the amount of energy
eagles expend chasing other animals, especially birds, in an
effort to appropriate their dinner. Watching them from around my
remote cabin, it appears they are unsuccessful more often than
not. Eagles commonly target osprey for food stealing as I
observed one summer afternoon from a boat in the bay at Whale
Pass. A mature bald eagle gave chase to an osprey that had just
nabbed a nice fish, sending both raptors into a high speed
circling of several small islands. The eagle was in hot pursuit
for a few laps until it suddenly just gave