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Bald eagles

Discovery of 13 dead bald eagles in Maryland sparks federal investigation

Josh Hafner
USA TODAY
A bald eagle takes flight Monday, Feb. 1, 2016, at the Museum of the Shenandaoh Valley in Winchester, Va.

The discovery of 13 dead bald eagles in a field on Maryland’s Eastern Shore over the weekend sparked a federal investigation.

A call Saturday afternoon brought Maryland Natural Resources Police to a farm in Caroline County, according to the Washington Post.

There, a man searching for shed deer antlers came upon what appeared to be a dead turkey. It was in fact a dead bald eagle – with three others nearby.

After police arrived, they searched the grounds and found nine more dead eagles, the Baltimore Sun reports. The cause of the birds’ death remained unclear.

Authorities photographed the scene and tagged the birds before turning the matter over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for an investigation, a spokesperson for the Maryland Natural Resources told the Post.

The bald eagle was removed from the federal list of endangered species in 2007, though the bird remains protected under several other acts.

Follow Josh Hafner on Twitter: @joshhafner

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