When I was working on a fishing boat in Alaska, I was amazed to see that the local native kids went out to the dump and shot the bald eagles right along with the seagulls and ravens when they were plinking with their .22's.
Then I relaized that they are just another scavenger. Whatever value we place on them is purely emotional because they are our national symbol.
I am not defending what they did, but just trying to make you think about it from a little different angle.