A bald eagle found wounded in rural Louisiana on December 5 died shortly after, and federal and state wildlife agencies have pooled a major cash reward for information leading to a conviction.
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries personnel responded after receiving a report of a wounded bird near the intersection of Robert and Wilmer roads in Vermilion Parish, a stretch of southern Louisiana bayou country about 150 miles west of New Orleans. Officers located and captured the eagle, but the bird did not survive. A subsequent necropsy performed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined the eagle suffered an injury consistent with a gunshot wound.
No suspect has been identified. No arrest has been made. But authorities want one, and they are putting up real money to get there. Wildlife officials announced a reward of $20,000 for tips that lead to a conviction in the case, drawing contributions from multiple federal and nonprofit organizations.
The Center for Biological Diversity contributed $13,000 toward the reward fund. Humane World for Animals added $3,500. Louisiana Operation Game Thief, the state's anonymous tip program, is offering up to $1,000. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is also contributing, though the exact breakdown among agencies remains unclear from the initial reporting on the case.
Anyone with information can call the Louisiana Operation Game Thief hotline at 1-800-442-2511, text "LADWF" followed by a tip to 847411, or use the free LDWF Tips app.
Killing a bald eagle is not just morally repugnant, it is a federal crime. The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act makes the killing, possession, or sale of bald or golden eagles a federal violation. A conviction can carry a fine of up to $5,000 and up to one year in jail. On top of that, a court can impose a civil restitution fine of up to $5,000.
Both the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are jointly investigating. The bird was sent to federal authorities for an extensive necropsy, essentially an animal autopsy, that confirmed the wound pattern matched a gunshot.
Officials have not disclosed whether they have any leads.
Bald eagles nearly vanished from the lower 48 states. By 1963, only 417 nesting pairs remained, driven to the brink by pesticide use, habitat loss, and illegal shooting. Decades of federal protection and conservation work brought the species back from that collapse. The bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list in 2007, one of the most celebrated wildlife recoveries in American history.
An adult bald eagle weighs between 6.5 and 14 pounds and can stretch a wingspan of seven to eight feet. Its eyesight is four to five times sharper than a human's, capable of spotting prey from over a mile away. These are not small, obscure birds easily mistaken for something else.
Which makes the Vermilion Parish shooting harder to explain as an accident, and makes the absence of a suspect all the more frustrating for the agencies working the case.
America's national bird survived near-extinction. It should not have to survive some unknown shooter in the Louisiana countryside. If someone in Vermilion Parish knows who pulled the trigger, $20,000 and a clear conscience ought to be reason enough to pick up the phone.
