Lake Cornelia female bald eagle
Adult female bald eagle admitted from Wright County, Iowa on 12 September 2018 with elevated lead levels. The first of the 2018-19 hunting season.
This adult female bald eagle is our first lead toxicity case of the 2018-19 hunting season. Her blood lead level is in the sub-clinical range and this eagle is being monitored for nervous system issues that may appear. Elevated lead levels always have Kay concerned about vision and eye function. Kay says she can definitely see to bite! She is receiving supportive care. She is a tish thin at 9 pounds.
Why was she admitted… she was found by Eric with Wright County Conservation. Thanks to Ron H for transporting her to SOAR! Eric said the location is where many white-tailed deer are hit on the roadway and near the Lake Cornelia State Game Management Area. This eagle does have a non-compound fracture to her radius and ulna (non-compound meaning did not break the skin), so we suspect she was hit by a vehicle. The bones are aligned well, but the bone healing is the most worrisome.
Where did the lead come from, it’s not deer hunting season, yet? The only hunting seasons open at the time of this eagle’s admit are cottontail rabbit, squirrel, and dove season that all opened September 1. The youth and disable hunter deer season opened this past Saturday, September 15.
Eagle digestive systems are so efficient that we don’t know what she ate, but whatever she ate must’ve contained lead ammunition fragments.
Please hunt and fish lead-free and if you are not a hunter or angler, one, please understand we are, and two, help those that do hunt and fish to understand how they can go lead-free. Here are a couple of our website pages to help the conversation get started!
Then if you want to dive into the topic more in-depth, go here:
The links on these pages listed were checked 9/19/2018, but if you find a bad link, please email Linette!