I have chosen the Bald Eagle because its my Dad’s favorite animal. I used to love hearing him call me to run outside and look through his binoculars because he had spotted one perched high on tree branch in the distance. They were rare, I was always amazed to see them. I think a connection can be made between the Bald Eagle populations and Williams mother’s battle with cancer. The Bald Eagle was previous on the endangered species list but they have been removed since, and now have an increasing population. The Eagles have fought back and returned their population to healthy numbers. Williams’ Mom fought cancer and was able to keep surviving. I believe humans could be seen as a disease, plaguing the environment and organisms. William’s mother was able to find refuge in dancing, forgetting she had cancer, and taking things day by day. With out using some of her coping strategies, her life may have been even more difficult than it already was. The environment serves as a refuge for the eagles. As we continue to negatively affect the environment by cutting down trees, polluting the air, and use harmful pesticides we take refuge away from the Eagles, making survival more difficult for them. One of the main reasons Eagles lost much of their population was due to the chemical DDT. Eagles ingested this chemical when they ate contaminated fish. After banning the use of this chemical in the U.S. the Bald Eagle population was able to recover.