Zmigrod. A pair of dead bald eagles found in the forest. According to veterinarians, the birds were poisoned

Dead white-tailed eagles went to the Department of Epizootiology with the Clinic of Birds and Exotic Animals of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Wrocław. These are two adults, judging by the color of the tail, about six or seven years old. Specialists want to explain the causes of their deaths as accurately as possible. They are convinced that the birds were poisoned by man.

– These predators feed mainly on fish, sometimes birds, but in winter they also eat carrion. Most likely, to get rid of the foxes, someone put the meat with poison. The fox ate them, and the white-tailed eagles ate the fox’s carcass. The poison was so strong that the birds were found next to the animal, they did not manage to fly away – says Dr. Tomasz Piasecki from the Department of Epizootiology of Birds and Exotic Animals.

– We have performed an autopsy on the corpses of bald eagles and we are sure that they were poisoned with a strong toxic substance. What exactly, we will know in two weeks – he adds.

The white-tailed eagle is a legally protected species in Poland. The nest is subject to special protection, within the radius of which protection zones are created. It is a huge, majestic bird. Females are on average larger than males. Their body weight reaches up to 7 kg, and the wingspan – up to 2.5 meters.

Dr. Piasecki emphasizes that in this case we most likely lost not only this pair of birds, but also their young that remained in the nest. Examination of the dead female clearly showed that she had already laid her eggs.

This is another case when a protected bird got poisoned by eating poisoned carrion. For example, in February we wrote a story white-tailed eagle found in the middle of a field in agony, with symptoms of acute poisoning. That individual was very lucky, thanks to the perceptiveness of people and efficiently provided veterinary help, it was possible to save it.