Two bald eagles have died after crashing to the ground during a possible territorial dispute in Bar Harbor.Acadia Wildlife, a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation clinic and nature center in Bar Harbor, says the two eagles hit the pavement on Wednesday with their talons clamped together.Wildlife officials say a four-year-old juvenile eagle was testing his limits with a paired adult and the two birds were unable to detach before hitting the ground.Acadia Wildlife said the juvenile bald eagle was on the bottom and hit the ground first, causing irreversible damage to his spine and internal organs resulting in his death.The adult eagle spent the night at Acadia Wildlife before being transferred to a wildlife vet in Old Town for x-rays on a broken leg and an exam of an injured eye.Eagles cannot survive in the wild with one eye and officials said this one was draining and painful to the bird. The femur of the eagle was broken mid-shaft, which experts said they could have pinned, but the eye was the determining factor and he was humanely euthanized.Acadia Wildlife officials said the adult eagle’s mate kept looking for him. Officials say the pair had lived and nested on Leland Point for many years, already raising one chick this year that had already fledged.
BAR HARBOR, Maine —
Two bald eagles have died after crashing to the ground during a possible territorial dispute in Bar Harbor.
Acadia Wildlife, a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation clinic and nature center in Bar Harbor, says the two eagles hit the pavement on Wednesday with their talons clamped together.
Wildlife officials say a four-year-old juvenile eagle was testing his limits with a paired adult and the two birds were unable to detach before hitting the ground.
Acadia Wildlife said the juvenile bald eagle was on the bottom and hit the ground first, causing irreversible damage to his spine and internal organs resulting in his death.
The adult eagle spent the night at Acadia Wildlife before being transferred to a wildlife vet in Old Town for x-rays on a broken leg and an exam of an injured eye.
Eagles cannot survive in the wild with one eye and officials said this one was draining and painful to the bird. The femur of the eagle was broken mid-shaft, which experts said they could have pinned, but the eye was the determining factor and he was humanely euthanized.
Acadia Wildlife officials said the adult eagle’s mate kept looking for him. Officials say the pair had lived and nested on Leland Point for many years, already raising one chick this year that had already fledged.