Minnesota Official Calls Eagle’s Lifespan Remarkable

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A Minnesota Department of Natural Resources official says a 38-year-old bald eagle that recently died in New York had a remarkable lifespan.

The male eagle was captured as a chick in 1977 at Puposky Lake near Bemidji and transplanted to New York with three other eagle chicks that were banded as part of a national restoration effort.

Officials found the eagle June 2 alongside a road, killed by a vehicle, with a freshly killed rabbit nearby.

It was believed to be the oldest banded bird of its species.

Carrol Henderson, longtime head of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources nongame wildlife program, helped with the capture in 1977.

Henderson says it's gratifying to know their early efforts for eagle restoration paid off so well.