VALLEY PARK, Missouri (AP) — A bald eagle is slowly recovering in Missouri after multiple surgeries following a shooting that experts say is far too common among America’s national bird and other birds of prey.
The male eagle was found injured in central Missouri on July 11. A volunteer from the World Bird Sanctuary picked him up and brought the 7-pound adult back to the sanctuary in a St. Louis suburb.
Roger Holloway, the sanctuary’s executive director, said the eagle’s upper beak was almost split in half by the bullet, its left wing was injured and it was suffering from lead poisoning.
The eagle, which has been given the number 24-390 because it is the 390th injured bird treated at the sanctuary this year, has undergone three surgeries. Holloway said an operation last week was to further repair the severely damaged beak – a serious injury that could be life-threatening if it does not heal.
The good news: The stitches from previous surgeries are healing well, as are the broken jaw caused by the force of the bullet, Holloway said. Another operation is likely in early September.
But even if all goes well, No. 24-390 will require months of care, perhaps even a year, before he can potentially be released back into the wild.
“We are cautiously optimistic that he is otherwise healthy, has gained weight, is processing food well and is becoming more lively and less cooperative, which we really like,” Holloway said. “Because the bird is wild and has strength, and that is what he needs to grow his beak back to its functional size and length.”
No. 24-390 is one of six raptors treated for gunshot wounds at the World Bird Sanctuary this summer. About 600 birds are treated there each year, most of them injured in collisions of various kinds.
Holloway and other experts say they’re seeing an increase in gunshot wounds to the majestic birds that have been the national symbol of the United States for nearly two and a half centuries. Both bald eagles and golden eagles are also considered sacred to Native Americans.
Under U.S. law, it is illegal for anyone without a permit to kill, harm, or disturb eagles, or to steal their nests or eggs. Even taking feathers found in the wild can be a crime.
At the end of the 19th century, there were about 100,000 bald eagles nesting in America. Habitat destruction and hunting led to the birds becoming almost extinct. In 1940, Congress passed the Bald Eagle Protection Act, which prohibited the possession, killing, or sale of bald eagles.
Pesticides continued to kill bald eagles, and by 1960 there were only about 400 breeding pairs left. The bald eagle was placed on the endangered species list in 1978.
Federal protections and regulations on pesticides containing DDT led to a revival. In 1995, the bald eagle’s status was changed from “endangered” to “threatened,” and in 2007 it was removed from the endangered species list.
Eighteen years ago, there were 123 confirmed bald eagle nests in Missouri, says Janet Haslerig, an avian ecologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation. Today, there are 609.
But as population growth has increased across the country, so has the number of shootings.
“The trend is upward and very worrying,” said Haslerig.
In March, a Washington state man accused of helping to kill thousands of birds pleaded guilty in federal court to shooting eagles on a Montana Indian reservation and selling their feathers and body parts on the black market.
Many other shootings were due to a combination of “ignorance and boredom,” Holloway said.
“Sometimes it’s just, ‘I have a gun. There’s a target,'” he said. “They don’t understand the laws and rules. They don’t understand they’re committing a crime.”
“This is simply indiscriminate shooting by irresponsible individuals.”
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