Two bald eagles treated at the World Bird Sanctuary are among the latest victims of lead poisoning in Missouri. Despite efforts to save their lives, both raptors were eventually euthanized after their organs began to shut down.
“These two had no other physical injuries other than the fact that they were emaciated [and] had high levels of lead,” said Kira Klebee, the sanctuary’s rehabilitation director.
Part of “nature’s cleanup crew,” bald eagles rely on scavenging for food. But carcasses left as roadkill or discarded by hunters often contain lead. A single bullet can contain hundreds of fragments of the metal spread over several feet.
“The primary source of lead poisoning for raptor species is ingestion of fragments of lead ammunition or lead fishing tackle,” Klebee said. “Bald eagles are the ones most likely to register as high on this because it does not take a very large fragment of lead shot to spike their blood levels.”
The decision to euthanize the birds of prey came after multiple courses of medication and treatment — including a blood transfusion — to remove the lead from their bodies. The nonprofit reported treating 64 patients for lead poisoning in 2024.
World Bird Sanctuary is currently treating two other patients for lead poisoning — a red-shouldered hawk and a black vulture.
“They do need intensive care,” Klebee explained. "They're going to usually get about 11 hours of monitored care throughout the day. That blood [transfusion] can help dilute the lead that's already in their blood, and hopefully fight off some of the symptoms of the lead poisoning while we work on getting that metal removed from their body.”
Despite those attempts, the birds’ organs showed signs of failure. “There is no way for us to reverse that,” Klebee said. “It’s always really a difficult decision.”
To learn more about how lead affects wildlife like bald eagles, and how the World Bird Sanctuary is handling cases of avian flu, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube, or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
