Bald Eagle from W.Va. Bird of Prey Center Dies

The most prominent resident of a bird rehabilitation center in Fairmont has died.

  Liz Snyder of the West Virginia Raptor Rehabilitation Center says the bald eagle Thunder died Dec. 21 — exactly 21 years after arriving at the center with a gunshot wound that left her unable to survive in the wild.  

According to the Times-West Virginian, Thunder was being treated for a respiratory infection before dying in the arms of center director Michael Book, who had taken care of the bird since 1992.

Snyder says Thunder was the center’s most visible symbol. Her picture appeared on the center’s website, and Snyder says that when people thought of the center, they thought of Thunder.

Book says he will always remember Thunder as “proud, intelligent and fearless.”