Cause of Death Determined for Willowbrook Wildlife Center's Bald Eagle

Photo courtesy of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County and DuPage County Animal Care and Control.

Written by Morgan Searles

The death of an American bald eagle that was found Sept. 29 on the side of Interstate-55 in Darien was caused by a massive bacterial infection.

The eagle was taken for treatment at the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County’s Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn, but it died Sept. 30.

“A full necropsy done by the University of Illinois determined the eagle had a massive bacterial infection in its bloodstream likely the result of puncture wounds on its wings and knees,” according to a statement from the center. “Its liver and adrenal glands were also severely infected, according to Willowbrook staff veterinarian Jen Nevis. The cause of the puncture wounds is unknown.”

An initial exam performed while the bird was still alive showed he had head trauma and abrasions and contusions on his wings and feet. West Nile virus was initially suspected as the cause of death, but tests show the bird did not have the virus, avian influenza or Newcastle disease.

The puncture wounds may have been caused by an impact, not another animal attack. Nevis speculates this could be the case because the wounds were symmetrical, the center reported. Nevis said the wounds could have kept the eagle on the ground, or he might have been injured after he was already on the ground.

This eagle was the same bird that was brought in Feb. 2014 to the Willowbrook Wildlife Center after it was shot in Oak Lawn. The eagle was released in April 2014 at Pratt’s Wayne Woods in Wayne.

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