Bald eagle believed to be injured in Missouri was just ‘too fat to fly,’ wildlife officials say

A bald eagle initially thought to be injured because it couldn’t fly was found to be healthy after wildlife officials determined the bird was just “too fat” after feasting on roadkill.

The bald eagle was found along the boundary of Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, said officials at the park, which is part of the U.S. National Park Service. 

After the Missouri Department of Conservation captured the bird for rehabilitation, wildlife officials determined the bird was fine when X-ray tests showed the real reason why the eagle couldn’t fly.

“The bird, originally reported to be injured, was found to be healthy but engorged with raccoon – in other words, too fat to fly,” officials said in a post on social media.

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The X-rays taken at the Dickerson Park Zoo show the outline of what wildlife officials suspect is raccoon roadkill inside the eagle’s stomach. 

The agency released a photo that shows what appears to be a raccoon paw in the bird’s stomach, and a second photo showing the predator’s distended stomach.

While fish comprise about 70% to 90% of an eagle’s diet, the bird “will feed on what is most available, and requiring the least amount of energy to acquire it,” according to the American Bald Eagle Foundation.

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Wildlife officials later released the eagle near where it was found in the park in compliance with federal and state laws.

Wilson’s Creek was the site of the second major battle of the Civil War, and the first significant confrontation west of the Mississippi River, according to a description on the NPS website.

U.S. Army officer Nathaniel Lyon was killed during the battle, becoming the first Union general to be killed during the war.