The death was of high interest to raptor biologists, who have no other way besides recovered bands to confirm the age of mature wild eagles.
"Once they reach that full adult stage — white head, brown body, white tail — you don't have any idea how old they are," said Steve Lewis, coordinator of raptor management for the Alaska region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
A Kodiak Island bald eagle survived 25 years of Alaska hazards but met an unfortunate fate last month on the crossbar of a utility pole: electrocution.
A band attached to its leg showed the bird to be the second-oldest bald eagle documented in Alaska and one of the oldest in the country.