The Truth About Eagles
Assuming that most people are online these days and have access to email, or blogs and forums, part of this social media phenomenon is the sending out and receiving of what are called memes. They can be things that people have written, stories that are shared, mini-sermons, factual news or fake news items, etc.
Among Christian circles there is a meme that has been passed around for years now about eagles. This meme is seemingly based on certain scriptures, mostly one found in Isaiah chapter 40:
"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isa. 40:31 AKJ
This is one of the most well known verses in the old testament. The famous hymn Teach Me Lord To Wait was written by singer Stuart Hamblen in 1953 based on this verse.
One of the memes goes something like this to try and further explain what the Biblical writer meant:
"Did you know that eagles have a special way of renewing their strength? When their feathers get worn and weak, they will fly to a high rocky crag on a mountain and the eagle will begin to hit it's wings against the mountainside until all of its feathers have been removed from its wings. This causes new feathers to grow on the wings causing its wings to be new and strong like they were in it's youth. The eagle will also hit it's old, dull bent beak against the rocky mountain side until it is totally removed, causing a new strong straight beak to grow back in, stronger and sharper and straight like in its youth. The Christian likewise must go through some hard times but these make him stronger like in his youth." Etc. Etc.
Here is one of the actual stories sent around in emails:
"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 mountaintop 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."
And another one:
"When an Eagle grows old, his feathers become weak and cannot take him as fast as he should. When he feels weak and about to die, he retires to a place far away in the rocks. While there, he plucks out every feather on his body until he is completely bare. He stays in this hiding place until he has grown new feathers, then he can come out. We occasionally need to shed off old habits & items that burden us without adding to our lives."
Sorry folks, but this is a total made-up myth. Complete utter fiction. There is not a lick of truth in what is said in these memes. And some of the misinformation is the fault of ancient commentaries:
Ellicott's Commentary: "Shall mount up with wings.--Better, shall lift up their wings, or, shall put forth wings' feathers, the last, like Psalm 103:5, implying the belief that the eagle renewed its plumage in extreme old age."
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary: "40:31. mount up. Rather, 'They shall put forth fresh feathers as eagles' are said to renovate themselves; the parallel clause, 'renew their strength,' confirms this. The eagle was thought to molt and renew his feathers, and with them his strength, in old age."
These commentaries and a popular belief among Christians is that an eagle keeps his feathers, beak and talons for about 40 years, and then it is up to him to fly to a secluded place on a mountain and brutalize itself by knocking off its own beak, ripping off its own talons and then pulling out all of its own feathers so that new feathers will grow in, thus renewing its body to a new youthful state and living another 30 years until it is 70 years of age. Unfortunately, this is totally false. Here is the actual scientific facts of what happens to an eagle.
In my 25 years of working in the film production business, I had the honor of working for the BBC, National Geographic and PBS Nature as well as other nature shows. During those times I worked closely with some of the top eagle researchers and eagle cinematographers on the planet. These are those people who would hoist themself up into a tree for days or even weeks and film eagles in their nest in another tree. I learned a lot about eagles from these experts as well as the truth concerning the many myths out there. And you can do your own online search concerning the myths and find this information online as well.
So let's tackle the myths. First, the talons and beak.
An eagle's beak and its talons are made up of keratin. This is the same fibrous protein that forms the main structural constituent of hair, feathers, hoofs, horns, fingernails and toenails, and claws including the talons on birds and our human fingernails and toenails. An eagle is born with talons and a curved beak, called the Maxilla. They are constantly growing out the eagle's entire life. Its talons are not supposed to be "flexible" as the meme describes. They are formed to be sharp, strong hooks enabling the eagle to grab its prey as it swoops down from the sky. The muscles that operate the talons provide about 400 psi of pressure to these living hooks so that they can pierce even the toughest animal skin. The eagle's talons are self-regenerating. They automatically grow out and do not need the eagle to rip them off of his body.
The beak is the same. It is constantly growing and automatically renewing itself. Made from the same keratin, it remains sharp and new and does not need the eagle to knock it off on some rock face. And it's supposed to be curved. That gives it a sharp knife-like edge needed to stab and rip open its food.
Eagles are predators. They are large, heavy, flying birds that many times live in extreme cold locations. Needing a high metabolism to stay warm, this takes a lot of energy and they must hunt often to survive. On average, an adult eagle consumes 1/2 to 1 pound of fresh meat per day, though they have the ability to "fast" several days or even a week depending on the available food supply. If an eagle were to knock off its beak, which is the knife it uses to rip tissue apart so it can eat it, it would soon starve. If the eagle pulled out its talons, it would no longer be able to grab and carry its prey and again would quickly die.
Concerning an eagle's feathers, a mature bald eagle has over 7000 feathers on its body. To pull out all 7000 feathers would be quite a job and pretty much impossible for an eagle to do anyway. Plus the eagle would then not be able to fly for months and would, again, soon die of starvation if not of hypothermia up on the top of a cold mountain because those feathers keep the eagle from freezing. Instead, God has designed into the eagle an automatic renewal system which is what the above scripture refers to. A mature eagle molts most of its feathers about once a year but not all at once or it couldn't fly. The feathers start molting from its head and continue down its body. Every two to three molts ensure that all of an eagle's feathers have been replaced. So no, an eagle doesn't keep its same feathers for 40 years until they are old and then pluck them all out. In fact, eagles only live an average of 15 to 20 years in the wild, not 40 plus 30. Some eagles have lived to as much as 30 but that is rare. The oldest known bald eagle lived 38 years in the wild according to its leg band. An eagle that is 25 is considered old, at 30 he would be very old. And surprisingly, 70-80% of eagles die before they even reach adulthood at five years of age.
Now here's a cool fact about eagle feathers that God built into the wings. Eagle feathers are numbered. There are ten primary flight feathers and from 15 to 20 secondary feathers on each wing. If a feather is damaged in a fight with another eagle or if the bird is slammed against a tree or mountain side by the wind, that broken or damaged feather will automatically be ejected. What most people don't realize is that feathers are alive. They have a blood supply and vein and the roots of the feathers are surrounded by the wing's skin tissue. If an eagle knocked out all of it's feathers at once, it would quickly die of blood loss before starvation. But if it breaks a feather, that vein seals itself, dries up, disconnects, and the wing will automatically eject that damaged feather just like in a molt and a new feather will quickly replace it. Not only that, the same numbered feather on the opposite wing will also be ejected and a new feather grown in its place too. This automatic system, designed by God, makes sure the wings are evenly balanced so that the eagle's ability to fly straight and true is not affected. Pretty cool, eh?
But "wait"... there's more!
I enjoy putting to use my college degree in the English language, searching out the true translations and meanings from the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, especially considering that English is a very inexact language.
There are two thoughts that can be derived from the beginning of this verse:
"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; "
In modern and post-modern English, the common definition of the word "wait" is to stop, stand or sit, do nothing, stay still, and just wait for a future event or until something else happens. Examples would be standing on a corner waiting for a bus; waiting for a letter to arrive; waiting in a room for you to be called for an appointment, etc. That idea is to pause with no or little activity on your part. And this thought is not wrong. Many times we try to force things to happen before their time and that can cause chaos, depression, and even going in the wrong direction in our lives. So praying for and walking in God's timing is key to the Christian life.
But in the early days of Biblical translations, from the original languages first to Latin, then to English, the word "wait" had different meanings and applications. In modern times we think of the occupation of a "waiter" in a restaurant as one who takes your order and brings your food to your table. This is the original meaning of "to wait" which is "to serve". In olden times, a server would stand ready behind an important person, ready to serve that person's wants or needs. This was constant, day and night, ready 24 hours a day if needed. The term "ladies in waiting" meant that a Queen's female servants were by her side, ready to be used as she instructed. The original thought of the word "wait" is someone is standing by, ready to serve their lord or master when called upon. This is a wonderful view of the Christian's relationship with Jesus, so thankful to the Lord for what He has done for them, and standing by, ready to be of use when and where they can be. And in doing so, their strength will be continually and automatically renewed just as the eagle's is.
So what does all of this show?
First, that the meme is a complete work of fiction, most likely a metaphor that some preacher made up to use in a sermon. Or, some believe it's one of the mythical stories of Native American origin. So don't believe everything you hear preached from the pulpit or read online.
Second, that God's built-in renewal system for the eagle is so much more awesome than the poor eagle having to do it himself. He doesn't have to think about it. His body automatically renews itself. All an eagle has to do is feed itself, daily. This is the other lesson for us as believers. Like an eagle's body, our faith must be fed daily by the reading of God's word, a regular time of prayer, and fellowship with other people of faith for our encouragement. This is our source of strength to live our lives in what is, many times, the harsh environment of this world.
And lastly, that's a lesson for all of us. If we wait upon the Lord for His timing, in readiness to serve, HE will renew us. We will have all that we need to fulfill the calling, mission, and purpose He has planned for us. That includes the strength to walk and run when needed and necessary. We don't have to go banging ourselves against hard things in life. Enough of those will come against us as it is. We don't have to pluck things out of ourselves. We just wait on God, trust Him, serve Him, know Him, and the renewal will be automatic, just like the eagle's. An eagle's wings are already strong. By letting God be God, our strength will be renewed so that we may walk and run for Him when we need to.
Resources:
Eagles:
NationalGeographic.com: "Average life span in the wild: Up to 28 years."
PBS Nature: Eagles documentary
FWS.gov - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website - Bald & Golden eagle PDF fact sheets.
Journeynorth.org: "Each year, during their molting time, eagles lose some old feathers and grow new ones. Not all feathers are lost at once. It takes several months. Once they reach maturity, it is likely that bald eagles molt their flight feathers just about every year."
Nationaleaglecenter.org: "For primary flight feathers, bald eagles will typically replace them once every year ." "Legends of eagles rejuvenating themselves and living another 30+ years by going through a painful re-birthing process are purely mythical."
Nathab.org: "Bald eagles live 15 to 20 years in the wild." "..bald eagles molt their flight feathers just about every year..."
Oregonzoo.org: "Lifespan: 15 to 25 years in the wild."
Eagles.org: "Once they achieve their final 'adult' plumage, it is likely that Bald Eagles molt their flight feathers just about every year." "The lifespan of eagles in the wild is generally (less than) 30 years." "(The) flight feather molt is not simultaneous; rather, matched flight feathers are generally lost at separate times, so the birds are never left flightless."
Reptilegardens.com: "(After reaching adulthood) Eagles go through a molt roughly once a year throughout their lives."
mnbound.com: "An eagle does not lose all of its feathers at one time. It is a gradual process, continually renewing the feathers."
Minnesota's Raptor Center: "Eagles would not typically 'lose' their beak or talons, unless it was the result of a traumatic injury." "An eagle hatches with both a beak and talons and these will continue to grow throughout the bird's life." "There is speculation as to the origin of this myth, but we can assure you that none of it is true."
Snopes.com: Rating of the myth - FALSE
Wait:
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Wait - "To remain in place in expectation." "To look forward expectantly." "To be ready and available." "Expectancy"
Wait upon - "To attend as a servant."
Bakers Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology: Wait - "serve, service, servant, to serve"
International Standard Bible Encyclpaedia Dictionary: Wait - "To serve, to minister"
Dictionary.com: Waiter - "A server"
Webster's 1828 Dictionary: Wait - "To be ready to serve; to obey."
Biblehub.com: Wait - "The Hebrew word "qavah" (qaw·wêh) is commonly translated as 'wait', which conveys a sense of hope and expectation. This passage highlights the strength and renewal that come from waiting on the Lord, emphasizing that divine timing leads to spiritual empowerment."
New American Standard Bible: Wait (qavah): "to bind together, hope for, look for eagerly, expect"
etymonline.com: Wait/waiter - From old high German, old high French - "Originally referred to someone who kept watch or was on guard."
lettersfromtheloft.com: “'Waiting for the LORD does not mean sitting back helplessly. It means to gather strength - to be energized by the confident expectation that God is going to act."
Richardhallahan.com: "Those who truly wait on God are still running and walking, still serving, still evangelizing, still pursuing, still studying, still planting. As one waits for God one must always be busy doing God’s prescriptive will. 'Occupy till I come' was the warning of Jesus."
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