Bald eagle Polaris, who lived at the Phoenix Zoo for 31 years, dies

PHOENIX — Bald eagle Polaris came to the Phoenix Zoo in 1987 after he was found in Washington with a broken wing.

His injuries were considered too severe for him to live in the wild again, so he stayed at the zoo to receive care.

The zoo announced in a Facebook post Wednesday that Polaris has died, 31 years after his arrival.

The post said he loved to call loudly, sit on his perch and “watch guests as they stared back, in awe of his majesty.”

The post said the zoo will miss Polaris greatly.

The zoo did not immediately say how the bird died.

Bald eagles almost went extinct decades ago, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but they were removed from the federal endangered species list in 2007 after conservation efforts led their population to rebound.

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