Bald Eagle Killed On Tracks Between Del. And Md.
ABERDEEN, Md. (AP) -- A bald eagle has been killed by a train while enjoying breakfast on a stretch of train tracks near Abderdeen, Md.
Craig Koppie, an eagle coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, says the rare encounter Thursday happened in a flash.
The bird was eating a deer carcass on the tracks as an Amtrak train headed to Washington approached about 8:30 a.m. An engineer spotted the bird and blasted his horn, but the eagle took off too slowly and was hit.
Bald eagles flourish in the area of the accident, which is near woods that are full of deer. When waters freeze in the winter and eagles do not have access to fish, they snack on dead deer.
Eagles are no longer considered an endangered species, but they are shielded by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
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