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Bird flu takes unheard-of toll on bald eagles, other birds

In this photo provided by the Wisconsin Humane Society, two people at the humane society's Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Milwaukee provide care to a female bald eagle that later tested positive for the avian influenza, April 8, 2022. The female bird had been captured earlier in the day from a lakeside neighborhood after neighbors noticed it on the ground beneath the nest. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports this new avian influenza strain has been found in 33 states, with eagles affected in at least 15. Officials also say the bird flu is more widespread and affecting more wild bird species compared to the last outbreak in 2015. (Wisconsin Humane Society via AP)

By: By JOSH FUNK, The Associated Press

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Bird flu is killing an alarming number of bald eagles and other wild birds, with many sick birds arriving at rehabilitation centers unsteady on their talons and unable to fly.

The latest bird flu outbreak of has led to the culling of about 37 million chickens and turkeys in U.S. farms since February, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed 956 cases of bird flu in wild birds, including at least 54 bald eagles.

The number of wild birds that have died from the virus is likely significantly higher. University of Georgia researcher Rebecca Poulson, who has been studying avian influenza for 15 years, says the wild bird death toll in this outbreak is "unprecedented."

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Bird flu takes unheard-of toll on bald eagles, other birds

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