A wildlife rehabilitation center in Utah is again calling on hunters to switch to lead-free ammunition after a bald eagle died of lead poisoning.
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources conservation officers rescued the male bald eagle from a field in Willard, Box Elder county, on Friday after receiving a tip that the bird had been acting strangely and had been down in the field for a couple of days, said Buz Marthaler, co-founder and board chairman of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah.
The eagle was taken to the center in Ogden where it was quickly treated for suspected lead poisoning.
“Looking at it, it was in good shape. but it had all the displays of lead poisoning,” Marthaler told KSL.com on Monday.
Wildlife rehabilitation staff injected the bird with a type of medication that helps animals rid of any lead from their bloodstream, but the bird died during a testing procedure the following morning. The cause of death was confirmed through a special testing machine.