Bald eagle found shot dead in tree in Indiana; $2,000 reward offered

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WISH) — A juvenile bald eagle died of a gunshot to its breast, and a $2,000 reward is being offered for information leading to a conviction, according to Indiana conservation officers.

People who regularly go to visit eagles found the juvenile Wednesday in a tree in southern Vigo County and reported it to authorities. A news release from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources did not provide the exact location.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the group Indiana Turn-in-a-Poacher Inc. is offering the reward, the release said. Turn-in-a-Poacher is a nonprofit conservation organization that works hand-in-hand with Indiana conservation officers.

Anyone with information was asked to call the conservation officers’ central dispatch at 812-837-9536 or the Turn-in-a-Poacher hotline at 800-847-4367.

Bald eagles are not endangered species but are protected by federal law. According to a Fish & Wildlife Service webpage, penalties for killing a bald eagle include a maximum of five years and a $250,000 fine for felony convictions.