Bald Eagle Was Killed by a Car, Not a Poacher

ALBERT LEA, Minn. (AP) — Authorities no longer suspect foul play in the death of a bald eagle in southern Minnesota.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Tina Shaw tells the Albert Lea Tribune that it turns out the eagle most likely was hit by a vehicle, and was then partially eaten by scavengers before the carcass was found in March south of Albert Lea.

The federal agency offered a $2,500 reward back in April when it appeared that the eagle had been killed by a poacher, then butchered like a game bird. The breast meat had been removed, and the eagle's talons and part of one leg were missing.

But Shaw says tests at the agency's forensic lab in Oregon ruled out poaching and determined that the eagle died of blunt force trauma.