John Ball Zoo mourns loss of female bald eagle

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — John Ball Zoo is mourning the loss of one of its bald eagles.

The zoo said that zoo keepers had noticed that Bea, its female bald eagle, was experiencing changes in her voice. Animal health and animal care teams were working to determine what was wrong and treat the issue.

“When initial testing and treatments were not leading to improvement, the team decided more advanced testing was needed and Bea was taken for a CT scan and bronchoscopy,” the zoo said on social media.

Bea experienced severe complications while under anesthesia and died. She was estimated to be at least 10 years old.

The zoo said that tests show that Bea’s illness was due in part to a fungal infection that continued despite medications.

Bea arrived at the zoo in January 2017 from Wings of Wonder Raptor Rehabilitators after she was found injured in Bruce Crossing in the western Upper Peninsula. The zoo said she had limited to no movement in her wings and legs.

She recovered after treatment, but it was determined that she was not able to use her wings and legs enough to be able to hunt and survive outside of human care.

“Bea always had a lot of attitude, and was very observant whenever the keepers would enter her habitat. She was a magnificent ambassador for her species and will certainly be missed by the staff and guests at John Ball Zoo,” the post on Facebook said.