ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke has announced that a juvenile bald eagle has died after it was admitted to the Center on Christmas Eve with a gunshot wound to its wing.
A spokesperson for the Center said it admitted the 9.5-pound female juvenile bald eagle from Wythe County on Christmas Eve — Sunday, Dec. 24, — which had evaded capture for more than a week and was able to survive by living off of deer carcasses.
With help from the Department Wildlife Resources and Appalachian Wildlife Management, and citizens, the eagle was captured and brought to the Center for care.
After further inspection and multiple X-rays, it was confirmed that the eagle had a gunshot wound to its wings, with bullet fragments found in the wound.
The Center said X-rays showed that the break was too severe to be fixed.
The bird was unable to recover from its injuries and died.
Anyone with information about the bird’s gunshot wound is asked to contact the Department of Wildlife Resources by calling 1-800-237-5712 or by emailing wildcrime@dwr.virginia.gov.
