State wildlife officials say one of the oldest bald eagles on record has been spotted along southern Indiana’s Lake Monroe.
The eagle was photographed this spring by a friend of state biologist Cassie Hudson while they were boating on the reservoir near Bloomington.
The state Department of Natural Resources says metal leg bands on the bird identified it as being released at Monroe in September 1988 as part of its bald eagle restoration program. The bird was taken from a nest in Alaska several weeks earlier, making the eagle nearly 27 years old.
DNR officials say a national center has documented only six bandedbald eagles that have lived longer. They say the eagle has returned to Lake Monroe several times and has been seen in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.