A dead bald eagle found floating in a lake near a dead baby loon was likely stabbed to death by another loon.
The fight to the death found that it was most probably the result of a struggle between a parent loon and the predatory bald eagle. The discovery has led some people to equate the struggle as one between Canada and the U.S.
The common loon is featured on Canada’s dollar coin, also known as the loonie while the bald eagle is the national bird of the U.S. and found on the country’s one-ounce silver and gold coins.
Most people would assume the common loon would be the underdog but in this case, a necropsy found that the eagle was killed by a stab to the heart from a loon’s beak.
Baby loons are commonly hunted by bald eagles. The eagle is protected in the U.S. Eagles found suspiciously dead are sent to the National Eagle Repository in Colorado.
It is a crime in the US to kill an eagle, possess one or disturb its remains, except for special exemptions, such as in the use of Native American ceremonies.
The eagle was likely killed by an vengeful mother loon which was the conclusion by a loon specialist at The National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
