 The 13 bald eagles that were found dead last month on Maryland's Eastern Shore didn't die of natural causes, wildlife officials said Thursday, and authorities are offering a $25,000 reward to help find whoever killed them. The birds showed no signs of trauma when they were found Feb. 20 on a farm and in the woods in the town of Federalsburg in what Maryland Natural Resources police said was the biggest die-off of bald eagles in the state in 30 years. Ruling out disease, which the eagles could have caught from chickens at the numerous poultry farms that dot the area or from migrating birds, was an important step in the case, U.S. Hibbard said in an email that while investigators have determined how the eagles died they won't release more information — including about any suspects — for fear of compromising the investigation. The Fish and Wildlife Service and Maryland Natural Resources police said a $25,000 reward has been posted for information leading to the conviction of the suspected wildlife offenders.
– A bald eagle mass murder? The US Fish and Wildlife Service says it has tested 13 bald eagles found dead near a Maryland farm last month and concluded that they were killed by humans, NBC News reports. An agency spokeswoman tells the Baltimore Sun that avian influenza and other diseases were ruled out in the state's biggest die-off of the birds in at least 30 years, and the investigation is now focused on "human causes" and bringing the offenders to justice. The birds showed no sign of trauma and the Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman says investigators know how they died, but that information will not be released to avoid compromising the investigation. Bald eagles are a protected species and the reward leading to the culprits in this case has been raised to $25,000.