BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - State wildlife agents believe at least one bald eagle, and possibly a second, may have been killed in northwest Louisiana, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
Agents believe it happened in the Lake Claiborne area, though they don't think it was in the state park there, enforcement division spokesman Adam Einck said in an email Monday to The Associated Press.
Because agents are still investigating he cannot give any details.
The birds are no longer endangered but remain protected by two federal laws. Under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, a first offense of killing a bald eagle can bring up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. The other law is the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
The number of bald eagle nests being used for eggs and nestlings fell to at most seven in the early 1970s. A survey in southeast Louisiana, where the birds are most numerous, found 264 active nests in 2018.
The survey covered an area from west of Morgan City to the New Orleans metro area. Officials say Terrebonne and St. Mary parishes have some of the highest densities of nests, with many concentrated in small areas in and around Lake Palourde and Lake Verret.
