VIDEO: Bald Eagle Found Shot To Death

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- Someone in Columbus found a dead bald eagle. Columbus police say it looks like someone shot the eagle with a small-caliber bullet.

It was on 4th Avenue North – near 15th Street North.

A conservation officer with the state department of wildlife has come in to investigate.

It’s said that back in the 1950’s there were less than 450 pairs of eagles in the United States.

Thanks to conservation efforts, by 2007 there was a reported 11,000 breeding pairs spread all over the nation.

Here in Mississippi, there are over 45 breeding pairs along major body’s of water.

Forest and wildlife expert at MSU Dr. Wes Burger says it’s not uncommon nowadays to see an eagle in our area compared to 10 or so years ago.

“In the Columbus, Starkville, Golden Triangle area we’ve got a number of breeding pairs. We’ve got breeding pairs of eagles at Noxubee Fish and Wildlife Refuge as well as up and down the Tennessee Tombigbee River. Today, eagles are common in the sense that it’s not unusual to see eagles both during the migratory winter when they’re migrating from northern latitudes, but we also see them year round here because we do have resident breeding populations,” says Burger.

Eagles are protected by two federal laws and in Mississippi they are also protected by state law.

Violation of these laws could cost you up to a year in federal prison and a hefty fine.