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Nearly half of US bald eagles suffer lead poisoning

In this 2019 photo provided by Mike McTee, a golden eagle stands on an elk carcass in Montana. The presence of lead on the landscape doesn't only impact eagles, says Jennifer Cedarlife, the avian director at Alaska Raptor Center, a nonprofit wildlife rescue in Sitka, Alaska. She has also seen vultures, ravens, hawks and other birds that sometime scavenge meals poisoned by lead. (Mike McTee via AP) In this December 2021 photo provided by Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, a bald eagle receives treatment at Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research in Newark, Del. While the bald eagle population has rebounded from the brink of extinction since the U.S. banned the pesticide DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972, harmful levels of toxic lead were found in the bones of 46% of bald eagles sampled in 38 states, from California to Florida, researchers reported in the journal Science on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. (Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research via AP) In this photo provided by David Brandes in February 2022, a golden eagle feeds on a deer carcass in Pennsylvania. A study published in the journal Science on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, estimated that lead exposure reduced the annual population growth of bald eagles by 4% and golden eagles by 1%. (David Brandes via AP) This photo provided by The Peregrine Fund in February 2022, shows the bullets with cores of lead, left, and copper. The presence of lead on the landscape doesn't only impact eagles, says Jennifer Cedarlife, the avian director at Alaska Raptor Center, a nonprofit wildlife rescue in Sitka, Alaska. She has also seen vultures, ravens, hawks and other birds that sometime scavenge meals poisoned by lead. (The Peregrine Fund via AP) This Sept. 19, 2021 X-ray image provided by the Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research shows metallic particles in the gastrointestinal tract of a bald eagle in Newark, Del. Because eagles are very sensitive to lead, and because they are so well-studied and attract so much public interest, “bald eagles are like the canary in the coal mine," says Jennifer Cedarleaf, the avian director at Alaska Raptor Center, a nonprofit wildlife rescue in Sitka, Alaska. “They are species that tells us: We have a bit of problem." (Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research via AP) This undated photo provided by The Raptor Center, University of Minnesota, shows a lead-poisoned bald eagle in St. Paul, Minn. Victoria Hall, veterinarian and executive director of the center, said that “85 to 90% of the eagles that come into our hospital have some level of lead in their blood," and we know that no level is safe.” X-rays often show fragments of lead bullets in their birds' stomachs. The Raptor Center, University of Minnesota via AP) In this photo provided by Estelle Shuttleworth in February 2022, bald eagles compete for a deer carcass in Montana. While the bald eagle population has rebounded from the brink of extinction since the U.S. banned the pesticide DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972, harmful levels of toxic lead were found in the bones of 46% of bald eagles sampled in 38 states, from California to Florida, researchers reported in the journal Science on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. (Estelle Shuttleworth via AP)