How Long can a Bald Eagle Live?

The life span of the Bald Eagle is quite long.

In general, a bald eagle that is living in the wild can live up to 33 years. The average lifespan is 15-20 years. However, if the animal is living in captivity, it can live for an even longer time than that. They can get up to the four decade mark. In fact, the oldest recorded bald eagle in captivity was a 48 year old from West Stephentown, New York.

As you can see, this fact is part of the reason why there is such controversey over whether or not animals should be kept in captivity. People say that they should be kept where it is natural for them to be; however, they often live longer lives when they are kept in captivity.

A major reason why they live longer when they are kept in captivity is because they do not have the same natural death threats, predators, and the elements surrounding them. Furthermore, a bird who gets sick in the wild is not going to drive him or herself to a vet. Animals who are in zoos or other controlled areas have that medical service available to them on site.

Longest Living Bald Eagle in the Wild

The bald eagle who lived the longest in the wild only passed away recently. This bald eagle was hit by a car on New Brunswick Highway in November 2010. This poor creature could have lived an even more full life if the animal had not been struck by a vehicle, quite possibly proof that bringing animals into captivity is really not such a bad action after all.

Scientists and researchers know that this bird was the longest living bald eagle because the avian was part of a bird banding experiment from the late 1970s. Her exact age was 32 years and 10 months. The Bird Banding Laboratory stated that a great deal of bald eagles are living well into their late 20s and early 30s these days.

What Kills Bald Eagles?

A number of reasons shorten the possible lifespan of the bald eagle, suggesting that many of them are not necessarily dying because of old age. For example, our oldest living bald eagle in the wild was hit by a car. Who knows how much longer that bird could have survived if it were not for a that tragic accident?

Here are some of their causes of death. You will see that quite a few of them are due to external factors.

• Human hunting activities for game or for money
• Getting electrocuted, sometimes due to their rather large wing span
• Lead poisoning from eating wounded animals shot by hunters
• Poisoning of chemicals that are found in fish and their waters
• Starving to death if they cannot find food
• Getting hit by vehicles
• Eating poisoned meat that is meant to trap other animals

Clearly, as you can see from reading and studying the list of causes of death of bald eagles, taking them into captivity and giving them a safe and nurturing home to thrive in is certainly no crime. Bald eagles live over 40 years if cared for properly and safely.