They popped blood vessels. Necropsies were done on the six dead eagles, with tissue and blood samples sent to labs around the nation to check for a variety of poisons. Results could take months. Of the six, four died of poisoning while one was struck by a car and another suffered internal injuries that might have come from a car accident. However, Gibson said officials are trying to determine whether those two eagles were suffering from the effects of poisoning, which weakened them and might have been a factor in their injuries.
Eagles snack on carrion as well as fresh fish and waterfowl.
It's possible someone poisoned an animal or animals that were then eaten by eagles that ingested the toxin, said Bettie Harriman, past president of the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology. The eagles were discovered in Marathon, Lincoln and Portage counties in central Wisconsin, which a significant amount of the state's eagle population calls home. Since eagles roam widely, they may have ingested poison from the same source but became ill after flying miles away, Gibson said. Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Sept. 22, 2000. All rights reserved.