Biologists trying to restore eagle populations around the world face a difficult challenge.But there are success stories—and the restoration of America'Bald Eagle is one of the most dramatic. When European settlers first arrived in North America， biologists estimate up to 500，000 Bald Eagles soared across its skies. But as colonies grew， people and eagles proved uneasy neighbors. Farmers complained that the eagles ate their chickens and livestock，so they paid hunters to shoot the relatively tame， slow-moving birds. By the turn of the century， the slaughter was government-sponsored: state and federal gencies offered hunters bounties of up to two dollars a bird.