LENOX TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- It was a sad sight for folks in Susquehanna County this week -- a bald eagle dangling from power lines after being electrocuted.
If you drive Route 106 through Lenox in Susquehanna County, you may have seen the sad sight of a bald eagle left electrocuted on the powerlines. Crews removed the bird on Friday.
The pharmacy just down the road said they had a flicker in the power on Thursday.
"Early in the afternoon, the lights flickered here a couple of times. We thought the power was going to go out, and it didn't go out, it actually stayed on," said Dr. Scott Muller, Lenox Pharmacy.
A little while later, a patient came in and talked about an eagle being stuck in the electric lines up the hill.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission tells Newswatch that cases where eagles are electrocuted are actually not that common. It's more likely for eagles to be struck by cars which the Game Commission said happened to another eagle Friday in Carbon County.
"We do get a case of an eagle electrocution probably once a year, maybe once every two years, so it's a fairly uncommon event," said Williams Williams, Pennsylvania Game Commission information and education supervisor. "It's much more common to see them hit by vehicles, really."
Eagles are no longer considered endangered species, but they are still a protected species, one the Game Commission says has been doing well in recent years throughout Pennsylvania.
"If you look back into the early 1980s, we only had three nesting pairs of bald eagles throughout the state. Now, the estimated state population is around 300 nesting pairs.
Despite the growing eagle population, those who live and work near Lenox say it's upsetting to see the national bird in this situation.
"You see them, but not very often, so when you see it hanging off the power line like that, it was devastating," Geneine Alvord said.
The Game Commission says you can do your part to help the bald eagles of Pennsylvania by using non-lead ammunition and tackle which can be deadly for them.
If you encounter a dead or injured bald eagle, you are asked to contact the Game Commission.