A bald eagle found struggling to fly when Arkansas wildlife agents captured it this week has died, the state’s Game and Fish Commission said.
Wildlife officers caught the eagle on Saturday in Perry County after onlookers contacted the state agency with concerns about the national bird appearing either injured or sick, officials said.
Rodney Paul, the director of Raptor Rehab of Central Arkansas, was treating the eagle at his El Paso facility. It died Monday night.
Paul said he highly suspected the eagle suffered from lead poisoning, telling the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette earlier this week that “watching a bald eagle die of lead poisoning is extremely heartbreaking” because of the symptoms they have.
The symptoms include muscle spasms, labored breathing and convulsions, he said.
Paul said lead-based bullets and fishing lures left in animal carcasses can poison eagles and other raptors when they eat them. The poisoning causes a drop in red blood cells, which then deprives the body of oxygen.
Because eagles migrate south in the winter, it's difficult to pinpoint where the bird might have come into contact with lead, Paul said.
The Game and Fish Commission said it’s examining the bird to determine the exact cause of its death.