Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 22, 1995                   TAG: 9502220095
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: JAMESTOWN                                LENGTH: Short

JAMESTOWN BALD EAGLE DIES OF BROKEN BACK

Curt Gaul, a historical guide at the Colonial National Historic Park, was on his nightly jog around the island when he found the eagle near a frozen marsh, unable to walk because of a broken back.

The bird was treated at the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Weyers Cave. Veterinarians there gave the bird steroids to strengthen its spinal muscles but had no success before the eagle stopped eating Friday, said center president Ed Clark.

Clark said the eagle died Sunday from the injury, along with the stress of captivity and liver damage caused by the steroids.

``The combination of the drug therapy and the injury itself and the stress of captivity was more than he could deal with,'' Clark said. ``Birds can get so stressed out by captivity that it simply kills them.''

A medical examination of the eagle after its death revealed it was a female and its spine was severely fractured, said veterinarian Phylis Raynor. It's not known how the bird was injured.

The eagle was believed to be part of a pair nesting at Pleasant Point in Surry County across the James River from Jamestown.

- Associated Press