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Bald eagle missing in Metroparks

Bald eagle missing in Metroparks

(Cleveland) -- It's a puzzle for naturalists, and other fans of wildlife. A male eagle that has mated with a female the last few years in the Rocky River Reservation is missing. There's speculation that the carcass of a male eagle found along I-480 may be that missing male.

Min Keung, a naturalist with the Cleveland Metroparks, tells WTAM that the male of the pair of eagles has been missing for a few days and that the female has been left to care for eggs in their nest all by herself. Keung says that while female eagles usually stays at the nest to care for the eggs, it's the male that goes off to look for food for the female.

Trained eagle spotters have noticed a different male around the nest, but notice that the female has not yet accepted him. Spotters have seen the female continuine to cry out for her long-time partner. Keung says there's still a chance the egg or eggs in the nest can hatch, and would be helped if she accepted the new male.

Keung believes that even if the egg or eggs don't hatch, the eagles have been successful in raising other eaglets, and she also says the female is likely to breed again in future years.

It hasn't been determined how the male found near I-480 died. According to Keung, the eagles likely took up residence in the Rocky River Reservation because of the abundance of fish in the river.


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Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.


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