Bald eagle died of lead poisoning in Montana’s Glacier Park
Posted May 1, 2019 10:24:18 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A bald eagle found in a national park in Montana died of lead poisoning.
News outlets reported Tuesday that the female bird was discovered near a creek in Glacier National Park in February.
Park biologists sent the emaciated bird’s carcass to the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin, for evaluation after an initial assessment failed to find gunshot wounds or other trauma.
The eagle had signs of lead poisoning including a distended gallbladder filled with viscous, green bile.
Officials say eagles are scavengers as well as predators and sometimes feed on other animals that have been shot using lead ammunition.
Similar deaths of eagles due to lead poisoning have been reported in the same vicinity of the West Glacier area in 2012 and in Yellowstone National Park in December.
The Associated Press
