New Threat to Bald Eagles

The bald eagle was headed for extinction in the 1960s de to DDT, that caused eagles to lay eggs with thin shells. Since then the ban of DDT in 1972, eagle populations have slowly rebounded. Now, there is a new threat. In 1994, fishermen found an eagle carcass on Degray Lake near Little Rock. So far, wildlife officials say, at least, 55 eagles have died from unknown causes there and at two nearby lakes. The duck-like water fowl the American Coot, is also affected. Dr. Kimberli Miller, a veterinarian at the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin, is helping coordinate research on the die-off. She told Steve Curwood that before they perish, the birds develop a mysterious illness.