38-Year-Old Bald Eagle at Bear Mountain Zoo Passes Away
A Hudson Valley zoo said goodbye to one of their favorites last month.
The Trailside Museum and Zoo at Bear Mountain State Park shared the heartbreaking news that Samantha, their 38-year-old bald eagle, was humanely euthanized on May 11th. According to the post, Samantha had been suffering from seizures since April and the episodes had become "more frequent and uncontrollable."
Samantha, also known as Sammi, was born in Alaska back in 1984 and was brought to New York as part of the New York’s Bald Eagle Restoration Program as the Trailside Museum explains on Facebook. The program was successful in bringing back the Bald Eagle population after "decades of decline due to DDT pollution and other factors."
Sammi's first trip down south didn't end well. The Trailside Museum shares that Sammi was found in Woodleaf, North Carolina after being shot in the left wing with a .22 rifle. Unfortunately, that accident forced Sammi out of the wild and left her wing partially amputate.
The Trailside Museum shared the following about Samantha and her relationships with her handlers on Facebook writing:
Sammi ruled the roost at Trailside! Her loud territorial squawking could be heard throughout the grounds alerting everyone that her keepers were walking by her exhibit. She would even recognize and squawk at past keepers, staff and docents years after they had worked at the zoo
Our deepest condolences go out to the staff at the Trailside Museums and Zoo at Bear Mountain State Park.
9 Perfect Eagle Watching Spots Across the Hudson Valley
Photos: Massive Eagles Fight Over Fish on the Hudson
Photos Capture Two Eagles Tangling in Mid-Air in the Hudson Valley