PATIENT:  Bald Eagle, #10-2204

LOCATION OF RESCUE:   Accomack County

CASE HISTORY:   Euthanized; brought to Wildlife Center for necropsy

On November 11, a jogger in Mount Nebo, near Onancock in Accomack County, found an adult Bald Eagle along Route 638.  The eagle had a broken right wing and was unable to fly.  The eagle was rescued by licensed wildlife rehabilitator Kathy Cummings and taken to the Eastern Shore Animal Hospital.  Veterinarians there assessed the extent of the bird’s injuries and euthanized the eagle.

The Bald Eagle was brought to the Wildlife Center on November 13 for an examination and necropsy.  The eagle was assigned Patient Number 10-2204 [if the Wildlife Center will be performing diagnostics on an animal’s remains – an x-ray, or test of lead levels in the blood, or a necropsy – a patient number is assigned.  This is the third Bald Eagle carcass logged in and tested thus far in 2010.]   

Dr. Kelly Flaminio performed a necropsy [autopsy of an animal ] on the eagle and found multiple fractures to the right ulna and radius on the wing; ruptured airsacs; a fractured liver; internal hemorrhage from the liver; and significant trauma to the right side of the bird’s body.

There were reports that this Bald Eagle had been shot; the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is reportedly investigating [see “Eagle Fatally Injured, Possibly Shot Near Onancock”, DelmarvaNow.com, November 17, 2010.]  There was no evidence seen on x-rays or on necropsy that indicated that the bird had been shot.  According to Dr. Dave McRuer, the Center’s Director of Veterinary Medicine, the eagle’s wounds are consistent with right-side trauma that could have been caused by an impact with a vehicle or from a fall.  Lead bullets almost always fragment and leave small bits behind in the tissue, although a steel bullet could pass through the wing without leaving a trace.  While gunshot cannot be totally ruled out, Dr. Dave reports, the eagle’s skin did not have holes consistent with a gunshot wound. 

These findings have been shared with VDGIF.   

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