US / bald eagle Feds: Humans Killed 13 Bald Eagles in Maryland Reward upped to $25K By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff Posted Mar 11, 2016 2:30 AM CST Copied In this Feb. 20, 2016, photo, a bald eagle lies dead in Federalsburg, Md. (Officer First Class Robert Karge/Maryland Natural Resources Police via AP) A bald eagle mass murder? The US Fish and Wildlife Service says it has tested 13 bald eagles found dead near a Maryland farm last month and concluded that they were killed by humans, NBC News reports. An agency spokeswoman tells the Baltimore Sun that avian influenza and other diseases were ruled out in the state's biggest die-off of the birds in at least 30 years, and the investigation is now focused on "human causes" and bringing the offenders to justice. The birds showed no sign of trauma and the Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman says investigators know how they died, but that information will not be released to avoid compromising the investigation. Bald eagles are a protected species and the reward leading to the culprits in this case has been raised to $25,000. (More bald eagle stories.) Report an error