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Last updated on Thursday, April 12, 2018
(BLOOMINGTON) - WildCare Inc. shared x-rays of the Bald Eagle that passed away last week.
Officials say the bird suffered tremendously during the last weeks of its life, slowly dying from lead poisoning. Lead is a potent, potentially deadly toxin that damages many organs in the body and can affect all animals, including humans.
WildCare Inc. located at 198 North Hartstrait Rd., provides professional care to sick, injured and orphaned wildlife so they may be returned to the wild, while protecting the next generation of wildlife through education and community outreach.
How did the eagle digest the lead?
These birds can be exposed to lead when they consume game birds or mammals that have been shot with lead ammunition. Lead pellets may remain intact in tissues and lead core rifle bullets may fragment into hundreds of pieces
upon impact and can be found several inches from the site of the wound in large game mammals. When avian predators and scavengers consume the remains of big game in the field or animals that were shot with a lead
bullet and not retrieved, the bullet or its fragments may be ingested and can result in lead poisoning.
Exactly how many eagles or other raptors succumb to lead poisoning and where they're being poisoned is unclear. For every bird of prey that's brought into a treatment center, more die unnoticed in the wild.
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