60 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {due west} Nature” classes. One of the most striking aspects I have observed is the relationship between John and Sequoia. Sequoia is 35 years old—elderly for a bald eagle in captivity—and John has been with her all but two of those years. The record age for a bald eagle in captivity is 52. The pair appear to have a relationship of respect, trust and mutual understanding. This was not always the case. John describes an aggressive, young Sequoia as “hell on wheels.” In those days, John sustained three lacerations that required stitches and “tons of puncture wounds.” But the partnership evolved into a highly-rewarding one, providing John with an avocation that he’s really passionate about. “She changed my life in so many ways,” he says, describing the connection as “enriching, interesting and challenging.” He even sees her feisty youth as a gift, recounting times of tranquility when he would just sit with her and look out at the ocean. Sequoia also helped John get over his aversion to public speaking, and he now fully embraces sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm. The pervasive use of the pesticide DDT led to a precipitous decline in the bald eagle population until it was banned in 1972. John credits dedicated breeding programs with aiding in the species’ recovery. Originally hatched on Swanson Island in the Queen Charlotte Strait in British Columbia, Sequoia was about six weeks of age when she was transferred to Ventana, Big Sur, by the Ventana Wildlife Society. The goal was to “translocate bald eagles from Canada where the population was healthy to areas in the Lower 48 where populations were in severe decline.” Sequoia was subsequently released to the wild, but tragedy struck when she was shot, resulting in permanent paralysis of her tail. Found by a rancher in Humboldt County, she was identified and saved by a local vet before getting transferred back to Ventana. As John describes it, Sequoia has “no brakes and no rudders” and does not fly well in the wild. She would have ABOVE: There are now a number of wild bald eagles around the Peninsula including ones that hatched in recent years. Occasionally, we are lucky enough to catch a glimpse of these majestic birds in flight; to avoid injury by powerful talons, John and the other birdof-prey handlers wear heavy leather gloves for protection.
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