Federal Authorities Investigating Whether Rescued Bald Eagle Was Shot: Video

Wildlife rehabilitation experts think an American bald eagle found by a jogger out for an evening run in Marion Township Friday may have been shot by hunters.

Jim Brown discovered the large, 8½-pound bird grounded and unable to fly, WXYZ, Channel 7, reports.

Brown immediately notified the Howell Conference and Nature Center, which has operated a wildlife rehabilitation program since 1982 to care for and rehabilitate injured or orphaned wildlife with the goal of returning them to their natural environments.

The adult male eagle was rescued Saturday morning by the nature center staff. After triage at the nature center, the majestic bird was taken to Countryside Veterinary Clinic in Howell for X-rays.

Center director Dana DeBenham told the Detroit Free Press the bird’s wings weren’t fractured and the X-rays showed no evidence of lead, but two circular injuries on the eagle’s chest may be gunshot wounds. Whatever the cause, the injuries left the eagle to fly. It’s expected he will be moved to a 100-foot flight pen for rehabilitation once he’s healed up.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is investigating, according to a press release.

“Experts suspect that the injuries may be gun shot wounds,” officials said in the release. “U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service law enforcement has been notified as the bird’s injuries may be the result of criminal activity.”

The Howell Conference and Nature Center’s wildlife rehabilitation clinic is the largest such facility in the state, and sees more than 2,300 birds, mammals and other animals a year. It is fully licensed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The nation’s national symbol, once on the brink of extinction, has made a historic recovery and was removed from federal endangered and threatened species lists in 2007. Bald eagles are still federally protected, though, and anyone taking them illegally could face fines of up to $250,000 and two years in prison.

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Howell Conference and Nature Center video via YouTube.