Scientists May Have Discovered What Is Killing Off Bald Eagles
Bald eagles are splashed all over America as a national symbol, so getting a glance of one of these birds in the wild is almost like seeing a celebrity … kind of. Unfortunately, these beautiful birds have been mysteriously dying for the past 25 years, and experts have been completely stumped about the cause. Now, however, one bird whiz thinks she has finally gotten to the bottom of the morbid conundrum.
Mysterious Deaths
Concerned citizens reported odd eagle behavior on the east coast: five birds were wandering in a field in Sussex County in Delaware, and 13 were found dead along the coast, 30 miles away. “We’re not at that point yet where we know the cause of death,” Catherine Hibbard, spokesperson for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said.
Bird CSI
A group of forensic ornithologists (we didn’t know this was a career) are investigating the eagles postmortem to determine their cause of death. These weird demises are only a few examples of what’s been happening to eagle populations for more than two decades. Scientists were desperate to uncover the cause.
Vacuoles on the Brain
"After all that’s been done to get bald eagles off the endangered species list, it’s disturbing to see these eagles die,” Catherine said. Eagles weren’t the only birds with mysterious deaths either: ducks, coots, and other waterfowl were all being afflicted with similar downfalls. But why?
Rough Death
The sick birds lost their coordination, couldn’t fly, and had seizures. Researchers found minuscule holes, called vacuoles, in their brains, but didn’t know how their cause. In 1998, scientists decided to name this hole-creating illness avian vacuolar myelinopathy (AVM) and continued their work to uncover the origin.
