Eagle Died After Eating Rat Poison, Found At IMG Golf Club: Rescuers

BRADENTON, FL — An American eagle found at IMG Academy’s golf course died after eating rat poison last month, an animal rescue group said.

Wildlife Inc. sent a volunteer to IMG on May 19 after receiving a call about the eagle that was down on the golf course.

“The American eagle was weak but still sat proud and tall. Her head was fully white, so she was at least 5 years old, maybe even a mother with a nest nearby,” the Bradenton Beach-based organization shared in a Facebook post Monday. “The volunteer knew something was very wrong with how the American eagle was acting. It put up some fight, but not nearly what it should have.”

After placing the bird in a carrier, the volunteer told Wildlife Inc. their concerns that the eagle had eaten poison based on its eyes, blood in its mouth and its demeanor.

The eagle, which had “high levels” of Brodifacoum or rat poison, died later that evening, the group said.

The organization suggests installing owl boxes to control rodents, rather than poison, to avoid wildlife deaths.

“This could have easily been avoided. Bait boxes filled with what killed the American eagle are put out to control rodents. If an owl box had been put out instead, this American eagle would be alive today. A common barn owl eats three to four rats a night or 10 (percent) of its body way,” Wildlife Inc. wrote.

The organization added, “Using a simple green approach could have saved this American eagle, the symbol of the USA, from a slow and painful death, from having her lungs fill with her blood, being overcome with fear as her ability to breathe was slowly taken away as the poison took its toll on her.”