DNR investigating death of two bald eagles

The Department of Natural resources says they were found in Blackduck, Minnesota, and say the eagles appear to have been shot.

The agency says they were notified of the incident from an anonymous message left on the non-game wildlife phone line on or around April 23. A Conservation Officer responded to a remote area not far from Blackduck, and located the dead eagles on the banks of the Blackduck River.

The eagles were sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife forensics lab in Oregon for a necropsy, the animal equivalent of a human autopsy, to find out the official cause of death. A joint investigation between the DNR and federal wildlife agents is ongoing.

A $2,500 reward is offered for any information that leads to an arrest or conviction of the person responsible, as bald eagles are a federally protected species. Those who may know something related to this case are asked to call the Turn In Poachers line at 800-652-9093.