While the pictures may appear majestic and proud, this is actually a bittersweet posting. The Iowa DNR recently brought in a Bald Eagle for Dr. Cherney to treat. He was found near Grundy Center weak and unable to fly. Upon exam, Lori could not find any visible damage, any broken bones or scrapes. We were hopeful. Lori immediately sent blood work off to check for a variety of things that might explain his weakened condition. Before we even had a chance to get the results back the Eagle started to seizure and eventually died. We were deeply saddened to lose such a beautiful creature. The blood work later revealed he had high levels of lead in his blood.
We want to take this time to raise awareness about lead poisoning and wildlife. Several varieties of birds (eagles, swans, geese, and loons for example) are at risk for lead poisoning. Lead gets into their system in a variety of ways. For example, eating spent shot from hunting, from fishing lures or weights, or through absorbing lead present in the soil and water. These birds may accidentally ingest a piece of lead or more likely they consume it gradually over time by eating other animals that have high levels of lead.
How big
of a problem is it? From the wildlife that is monitored through the DNR (depending on the species and state), anywhere from 15 to 33% of eagles, swans, geese and certain ducks die due to lead poisoning. This is often an “unseen” problem as birds don’t die in high numbers to catch the attention of the media. Individual birds who are weakened due to lead poisoning will seclude themselves away from public view, again keeping the problem from view.
How can you help? Ask the hunters you know to only use non-toxic shot. This is required in many places for waterfowl, but is not always for upland game. Ask the fishermen and women you know to make sure their supplies are nontoxic and lead free. Click here for a resource that discusses many lead alternatives for fishing.
For more information on this problem, there is a great overview from Tufts University.
There also is a short guide from the Iowa DNR on Bald Eagles in Iowa on how we can prevent this problem.
Lori,
You can download a “Hunting Lead-Free” handout that I helped Kay with…
http://www.soarraptors.org/HuntLeadFree.html
Thanks for doing what you do with Black Hawk Wildlife Rehab Project!
Linette
Thanks for the information and for the link. We appreciate you getting the word out there! We’ll add it to our Resources.
Thank you for the post about this bald eagle and the lead poisoning. Such a needless death. I hope everyone will join us, the Lead Is Poison Coalition, an Iowa based organization, as we work to educate people on the dangers of lead to humans, wildlife, and our environment. http://www.leadispoison.com
Thanks.
Thanks for your information and awareness on this issue. Good your group is getting involved with policymakers to start the change at that level. Good link to have!