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Injured bald eagle dies at Glen Ellyn wildlife center

An American bald eagle that was found injured Tuesday near Darien and apparently had a history in DuPage County died overnight at Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn.

Willowbrook officials learned Wednesday that the raptor previously had been nursed back to health at the center operated by the DuPage County Forest Preserve District. The male eagle was released in April 2014 at Pratt's Wayne Woods Forest Preserve after spending two months at the center recovering from a gunshot wound.

"It is terribly disappointing because he was such a success story from 2014," said Sandy Fejt, site manager at Willowbrook. "A number of folks went through a lot of effort. It was exciting to see him released into the wild. You hope for the best."

Now officials are trying to determine what happened to the eagle that caused him to be found Tuesday morning along the southbound off ramp from I-55 at Cass Avenue.

Fejt said the eagle had bruising and abrasions on his wings, so it initially was suspected he was hit by a car. But the eagle didn't have any broken bones or signs of internal trauma.

Now it's believed the eagle was suffering from an illness. Officials are going to do tests to determine whether the bird had West Nile virus. The results of those tests won't be known for days.

"We're thinking he was sick," Fejt said. "He was weak and debilitated because of the West Nile virus. That's what our number one suspect is."

The bird's visible injuries were the result of being on the ground and unable to fly for some time, officials said.

Willowbrook officials were able to determine the eagle's past because he had a metal band on from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

It's believed the eagle was at least 5 years old.

"He's got the full white head and tail they get when they start to mature," Fejt said. "He's an adult bird."

Fejt said she doesn't think the bird stayed in the area after his release in Pratt's Wayne Woods. If he had stayed, the eagle would have been spotted on a regular basis by area bird watchers.

"We haven't had any sightings of him from the time that we released him," she said, adding the bird was hard to miss because of his large size. "Once he flew, he started going up the river and off he went."

Because it's migration season, officials believe the eagle was in the process of flying south when he became ill and was forced to land.

Despite the unfortunate outcome, Fejt is taking comfort in the fact the eagle got to spend a year and a half in the wild after his 2014 release. "Maybe he has young out there that have another chance of success," she said.

Injured bald eagle found along I-55 near Darien

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