A bald eagle has died at the Cape Wildlife Center after officials said they believe the bird ingested a rat that ate poison.
The eagle, named MK, was rescued Monday after locals saw it nesting in a cemetery in Arlington, Massachusetts, and noticed she was spending a lot of time on the ground.
The bird was said to be in "very rough shape" when it was taken to the center.
After surviving a night in the care of veterinarians, MK died Tuesday night.
"It was always hard to watch a patient in this condition, but MK was particularly devastating. We know how well loved she is here in the Baystate and how many people her presence inspired to connect with our natural environments and the wildlife in them," workers at the Cape Wildlife Center posted on Facebook.
According to the center, MK put up a "valiant fight" but could not recover from the poison in her system and succumbed after she apparently hemorrhaged and bled internally.
"With the poison in her system she did not have the ability to clot and the bleeding was catastrophic and began to occlude her airway. Our veterinary team was by her side when it happened and was able to quickly clear her airway and intubate her, provide emergency drugs and fluids as her heart rate slowed, and eventually worked to do compressions to revive her. Sadly it was not enough to bring her back. She was gone in a matter of minutes," the center wrote on Facebook.
In announcing MK's death, the center urged people to stop using rodenticides.
"We hope her case will serve as a true wake up call for people to stop using SGARS, and will ultimately lead to true systemic change. It is time to restrict the use of these poisons. Rodent control does not need to come at the expense of our natural heritage and ecosystem."
