Officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) are looking into the death of 13 bald eagles that were found near a farm on Eastern Shore over the weekend.
The incident is considered to be the largest single die-off of bald eagles in the state in the past three decades, as it was only a year ago when the American bald eagle was declared to be no longer threatened by extinction.
According to the NRP, a man called in on Saturday afternoon to report that he found four dead bald eagles near a farm in Caroline County.
When the representatives from the state environment agency arrived at the farm, they discovered an additional nine dead eagles next to a road in Federalsburg.
NRP spokeswoman Candy Thomson said that while they have yet to determine the exact cause of the eagles' death, they didn't see any indication that the birds suffered any form of trauma.
The agency said that at least three of the eagles had brown bodies and white heads, which suggest that they were already adults.
Two of the eagles were close to becoming mature birds, while the rest of the birds were young ones with no white feathers on their bodies.
Thomson said it was sad that three mature bald eagles died, which could have helped grow the population of the birds in the area.
The government is offering $2,500 reward to any person who could provide information regarding the death of the bald eagles.
Thomson said they have tagged and photographed the dead birds. Officials from the FWS will send the carcasses to a laboratory in Oregon where they will undergo forensic investigation.
A similar die-off of bald eagles occurred in the state 30 years ago, when officials came across eight dead birds. They were not able to identify what caused those animals to die.
Meanwhile, two eagles were shot and killed by locals in Montgomery County two years ago. This strictly prohibits the hunting of eagles without any permit from the Interior Department.
Investigators from the NRP believe the birds in the recent die-off could have been poisoned after ingesting spoiled meat from the carcasses of other dead animals.
Photo : Joel Olives | Flickr
