Canada helped save the bald eagle from near extinction in the US – does the White House know?

As many as half a million bald eagles once thrived before the European settlement of North America. Photograph: Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

In late August, the White House posted a real photograph on social media of a bald eagle standing atop the limp neck of a Canada goose.

The raptor presses the goose’s face into the grey winter slush. With its stark white head and brilliant yellow talons, the eagle looks victorious and defiant.