Officials Defend Decision to Let Baby Eagle Die on Webcam

On Thursday officials in Maine defended their decision not intervene in the death of an eagle featured on a research institute’s webcam, which drew howls of complaints from viewers around the country.

The eagle family was featured on a webcam run by the Biodiversity Research Institute. The parents appeared to abandon the two baby eagles a few days ago, causing viewers to call for wildlife officials to intervene. One of the two young eagles died over the weekend.

Officials with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, however, said the state’s policy was not to interfere. Many eagles did not last into maturity, a state raptor specialist said, adding that a one-in-two survival rate would actually be pretty good.

The Biodiversity Research Institute said it had a policy against interfering with the birds’ natural behaviors. “The general view is not to intervene,” the institute’s spokesperson said. “These are wildlife. They’re not pets. They’re generally better off in their natural surroundings.”

[h/t Associated Press]

[Image via Shutterstock]

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