One of the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance’s bald eagles, Toano, died last week at about 24 years old.
Toano died Wednesday of serious heart disease and was being treated by the zoo’s veterinary team for several ongoing medical conditions, Denver Zoo officials wrote in a Facebook post.
Toano was rescued by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officers in Washington after he was found with chest and wing injuries. Despite rehabilitation efforts, he could not be released back into the wild.
He moved from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to the Denver Zoo in March 2006.
Zoo staff do not know his exact age, but they estimate he was at least 24 years old, according to the organization. The average life expectancy for bald eagles in human care is 16 years old.
Toano’s body will be sent to the National Eagle Repository, which oversees the distribution of feathers, body parts and bodies to members of federally recognized tribes for religious purposes.
The Denver Zoo previously participated in the program, which helps protect wild eagle populations, by sharing molted eagle feathers.
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