REWARD FOR INFORMATIONA $17,000 reward is offered by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency for any information about the eagle shootings that leads to a conviction.* Cumberland County: Anyone with information about the Cumberland County eagle shooting can call TWRA special agent John Rayfield at 615-736-5532 or Cumberland County Wildlife Officer Casey Mullen at 800-262-6704.* Bledsoe County: Anyone with information about the Bledsoe County eagle shooting can call special agent Bo Stone at 865-692-4024 or Bledsoe County Wildlife Officer Mark Patterson at 800-262-6704.BALD EAGLE FACTS* The Continental Congress declared the bald eagle our national symbol on June 20, 1782. Benjamin Franklin preferred the turkey.* Bald eagles live 20 to 35 years in the wild and as long as 50 years in captivity.* Adult males weigh up to 9 pounds and females weigh between 12 and 13 pounds.* They develop their distinctive white heads and tails when they are between 4 and 5 years old.* They mate for life, but may take another mate if their first mate dies.* Eagles’ diets are 70 percent to 90 percent fish.* Their wingspread is 6 to 8 feet.* Horizontal flight speed has been measured at up to 44 mph.Source: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Leads and information are trickling in, but wildlife officials say they still need the public to help identify the killer or killers of two bald eagles in Bledsoe and Cumberland counties.
A $17,000 reward is available for information leading to convictions in the February slayings.
Casey Mullen, Wildlife Officer, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency holds a dead bald eagle found shot in Cumberland County Tennessee on Feb 18, 2011. This is the second bald eagle killed in Tennessee in less than a month. The birds were found 30 miles apart.Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency spokesman Dan Hicks said investigators are tracking down some leads and seeking new information in the shootings of an American bald eagle in Bledsoe County and another in Cumberland County, about 30 miles away.
“We’ve had a number of calls,” Hicks said. He described some of the calls as “weird,” while he said others provided some helpful information if not direct leads.